Beyond Smallville: Time Shards Part 2
by gardy77
Summary: A brand NEW CHAPTER - The second part of the Time Shards trilogy features my first crossover with Batman characters and some members of the Justice League. Chloe is rescued by the team. Adds a new original character named Laura Lake. A new enemy is found.
1. Chapter 1: I Am the Night

Beyond Smallville: Time Shards Part 2 : I Am The Night Beyond Smallville: Time Shards Part 2 I Am The Night

Amethyst:_continued_

**I Am the Night**

An elderly gentleman dressed in a comfortable suit, white shirt, and tie walked into the stunning den of a newly repaired mansion. The walls had been built using the finest oak and pine wood paneling, the floor black and white marble, and the ceiling had a large colorful chandelier hanging from it, centered over a black plush couch. A 42 inch plasma screen television was on.

A young man, no more than twenty five or so, sat comfortably upon the couch, wearing a common red _Polo_ shirt, black _Kacky_ pants, and black leather loafer shoes. He was muscular, had short cropped black hair, piercing green eyes, and a square jaw.

"Tea, Master Bruce?" The older man asked. He had graying hair, neatly cut, salt and pepper colored sideburns, and a long face ending in a distinct pointed chin. "Thanks, Alfred." Bruce replied, giving the elder man a sharp quick bright smile. He took the steaming hot cup of tea from the serving tray, along with the small polished silver sugar bowl, and its spoon.

"Alfred, have a seat." Bruce asked cordially. "I'm rather busy, Master Bruce." Alfred remarked. "You're always busy, my good friend." Bruce countered. "Take a load off." Reluctantly, the British Nobleman seated himself across from Bruce in a dark blue _Lazy Boy_ chair. "Alfred, how long would it take us to get to Metropolis?"

"By plane, train, or automobile, sir?" Alfred joked, using his dry British wit. "Possibly all three my friend." Bruce quipped. "Let's see, Metropolis, Kansas..." Alfred considered, making a number of calculations in his head. "I guess the obvious question is why, Master Bruce?"

"There have been a number of unusual occurrences in and around Metropolis, mostly within Smallville, a rural agricultural community roughly forty minutes as the crow flies from Metropolis International Airport." Bruce informed his manservant. "You mean as the bat flies!" Alfred added sardonically. "Exactly!" Bruce chuckled.

"What are these anomalies, Master Bruce?" Alfred's curiosity had been piqued. "I've been keeping a file on unusual, remarkable, or inexcusable events in Smallville, dating back to 1989. The year 2005 seemed especially bizarre. Smallville took a direct hit from a meteor shower that seemed to come out of nowhere. None of the astrological observatories predicted it."

Alfred's eyebrows rose. "Intriguing, sir." Bruce placed his tea on a coaster on the mahogany coffee table before him. "Seemingly normal salt of the Earth residents of the affected area had developed unusual abilities, genetic implausibilities, mutations...one might say."

"Indeed?" Alfred's tired old eyes seemed to light up with surprise. "Are these reports credible?" Bruce nodded. "As credible as the Internet might allow, which isn't saying much. Still, something's going on out there. It's worth looking into."

"As if we don't have enough derelicts, malcontents, and odious felons in Gotham to deal with." Alfred shook his head. "Master Bruce, must we now import the criminal element from the Midwest?"

Bruce laughed heartily. "That's why we're going to them." Alfred sighed, pretending to be disgusted. Bruce knew that his lifelong friend and guardian was just as curious as he was about the Smallville stories. "Will we be taking the children?" Alfred's dry English wit was in full bloom.

"Sure. It'll do Dick and Barbara some good to get out of Gotham and see some of the rest of the country." Bruce assured him. "Gotham can survive without the Batman for a few days. If not, we can always jet back in a couple of hours time." Alfred yawned. "Very well sir, I'll alert the heathens."

Bruce snickered. "Oh they're not that bad, Alfred. They're just typical average teens." Alfred feigned disbelief. "If you say so, sir. Also, I believe I intercepted a call from your favorite felonious feline, Master Bruce." Bruce's mood darkened slightly. "Oh? What did Selena want?"

"Miss Kyle was in need of an escort for some charity benefit social occasion. Save the wild tigers or some such rot. I did mention that you might be busy, or might be out of town." Alfred answered as only he could. "Thanks old chum. Did she say anything after that?" Bruce inquired.

"Not much. Actually, she hissed in my ear." Alfred pretended to be irritated. Bruce laughed. "I should call her. Rather than a romantic evening out, I'd be better off keeping an eye on her." Alfred thought of something he'd read in the local social pages. "Master Bruce, I suggest a deal."

"I'm listening." Bruce said warily. "If you enjoy Miss Kyle's company, maybe you can go with her to the animal welfare benefit, but ask her to accompany you to a social engagement in Metropolis. The _Daily Planet_ is sponsoring a charity ball for its local Neediest Kids fund." Alfred put in.

"That's a worthwhile organization. Though I wish you wouldn't use 'Miss Kyle' and 'engagement' in the same sentence." He teased. "Point taken, sir." Alfred returned. "You're a genius Alfred." Bruce praised. "So I keep telling you sir." He joked haughtily. "That would provide a cover for Bruce Wayne and The Batman. Selena can be trying at times, but I may be able to count on her."

"The jury's still out on that, sir." Alfred pointed out. "Yes, it is." Bruce agreed. "I shall endeavor to pry the children away from their _I-Pods_ and Cell phones long enough to respond to you. Wish me luck!" Alfred joked. "You can handle them, Alfred. You always do." Bruce pulled out his cell phone.

"Selena? Bruce Wayne..." He began after punching up the Catwoman's number. Meanwhile, Alfred had located Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon at the Golden Circle, an ice cream parlor near Gotham State University Campus. Barbara was a freshman at GSU, Dick would follow next fall.

"Cool! Road trip!" Dick replied excitedly, after receiving Alfred's call. Barbara was less enthusiastic. "What on Earth would we want to go to the center of fly over country for? The whole city is going to hell, and Bruce wants to head out to Podunk?"

"Oh come on Babs, it'll be fun." Dick prodded. "The smell of fresh country air, kind, considerate folk who say 'howdy' to you every day, the ability to do a hundred miles per hour on a deserted two lane road with your motorcycle..." That caught Barbara's interest. "Now you're talking, Dick."

Later, at Stately Wayne Manor, Bruce, Alfred and the kids were sitting down to dinner. "Okay Bruce, I'll bite. What is so interesting about Smallville, Kansas?" Dick questioned. Barbara was busy ogling Bruce's eyes. She still hadn't quite gotten over her schoolgirl crush on him.

The feisty nineteen year old was the daughter of Commissioner James Gordon of the Gotham Police department. Eighteen year old Dick Grayson had been under Bruce Wayne and Alfred's custody, since Dick's parents were killed in a staged circus act accident. Later the case became a triple homicide.

Bruce had taken it upon himself to train Dick and Barbara as his youthful assistant crime-fighters. They made an odd but effective team...most of the time. Alfred and Bruce had been riding the kids hard about completing their schoolwork, despite their unusual nocturnal activities.

"Dick, have you and Barbara ever heard of the phrase 'meta-human enhancement'?" Bruce asked as he folded his hands above his now empty plate. Alfred busily began to clean up the table, with limited assistance from Barbara. Dick shook his head. "No Bruce, I can't say that I have."

"Alfred, have a seat." Bruce suggested. "I want you to hear this, too." The nobleman reluctantly sat on the edge of the Baby Grand Piano seat, just outside the mahogany paneled dining room. It was one of three dining rooms in the mansion. The other two were much more formal.

"Meta-humans, are another name for people with falsely enhanced genetic abilities. Most incidents of this type are rare, caused by amazingly unlikely coincidences." Bruce began. "Like the Man Bat?" Barbara chimed in. "Kind of Barb. But the professor chose to experiment on himself."

"Some Meta-humans were genetically enhanced illegally, and in some cases, without their knowledge." Bruce added. "Other mutations are completely accidental." Dick gulped. "I don't like where this is going." Barbara nodded, flipping her long reddish blonde hair to one side.

"Why do I get the feeling that our crime-fighting jobs just got a lot more difficult?" She remarked. "My point exactly, Barb." Bruce continued. "Smallville has had a high concentration of these 'rare occurrences' over the years. Metropolis fared a bit better so far. All of the known cases I've been able to trace back there, have landed the meta-humans in one form of asylum or another."

"I see." Dick put in. "Like our own lovely Arkham Asylum." Bruce nodded. "The difference being that most of our Arkham candidates were wanna bee master criminals. The Metas in and around Smallville were officially listed as insane, or diseased."

"So, very few have achieved high levels of criminality." Barbara folded her arms. "That sounds like a subject for my term paper thesis in Criminology 101, Bruce." Dick felt that there was much more to this study. "Bruce, what stopped the Smallville Metas from going ace criminal?"

"That's what we're going out there to find out." Bruce said poignantly. "I know that Metropolis has a good police force, but I have my doubts that they alone could be so efficient." Barbara snapped her fingers. "Another Batman? Or Batgirl?" Dick frowned.

"I hope not. I'd hate to see someone else steal our shtick" Alfred rolled his eyes. "To date there haven't been any reports of winged crime-fighters in the area." He added playfully. "I'm in!" Barb said happily. "Won't it be unusual if billionaire Bruce Wayne suddenly showed up in Smallville, though?"

"Good point, Dick." Bruce grinned mischievously. "That's why Bruce Wayne, and his young companions will be going to Metropolis to take part in a Charity Benefits Ball." Alfred's eyes lit up. Dick and Barbara groaned. "You mean I have to put on a monkey suit?" Dick grumbled.

Alfred was in his element now. "You mean a nice black tuxedo, white shirt and bluish tie, Master Dick?" Barbara laughed hysterically. "I'd pay to see that!" Alfred clearly enjoyed this part of his job. "For you, Miss Barbara, I envision a conservative pink dress, knee length cut, and matching high heels."

It was Dick's turn to snicker. "No way Alfred! Pink is not my color. I'd hurl!" Barb protested. Bruce came to her rescue. "How about this one?" He shoved a magazine picture in her hand of a leggy model wearing a slinky black dress. "Now, we're talkin' Bruce! _Evelyn Ferragamo_?" She smiled brightly.

"Do you like it?" Bruce downplayed the outfit. "At 3100! You bet I do!" Barb choked out. In seconds, Bruce was on the cell phone, ordering Barbara's dress, and a personal fitting at Gotham City's upscale boutique, _The Last Word_. "I'll pay you back, Bruce!" Barbara offered, she hated owing people things.

"Don't bother." Bruce said cordially. "Consider it a late graduation present." Dick scowled. "Oh like the Wayne/Nippon 1600 motorcycle you already gave her for graduation?" He feigned jealousy. Alfred grinned smugly. "Yes, similar to the Wayne/Nippon 1800 he gave you last month."

"I get the point." Dick conceded. "When do we leave for Freaksville?" Bruce glanced at his watch. "As soon as Selena gets here." Bruce said as he reddened. "No way!" Barb exclaimed. "You're taking the Catwoman with us to Metropolis?" Dick gasped. "Are you nuts, Bruce?" Alfred frowned. "Master Dick, that will be quite enough." He chastised. Bruce sighed. "She's my date."

Barbara's heart jumped. _How could he pick that wretched feline over me? _She silently wondered. "Okay Bruce, what's she got on you?" Dick prodded. Barbara folded her arms. "Selena deserves a chance to prove that she's reformed as much as any other criminal element." Bruce stated solemnly.

"It helps that she's cute!" Dick commented with irritation. "Ew! How could you say that, Dick? Ugh! Men!" Barbara groused. "Why does Bruce Wayne, billionaire, even need a date?" She added with some vehemence. "Selena and I have an uneasy truce...she knows who I am." Bruce dropped the bomb.

"Holy crap!" Dick hissed. "Does she know about all of us?" Bruce shook his head. "No, but unfortunately, Selena is also very smart." Barbara sighed in disgust. "More like devious!" Dick agreed. "Yes, she's devious as well." Bruce admitted. "Do you trust her?" Barbara grilled. "No." He replied.

"Selena has to earn our trust, as we should earn hers." Bruce said diplomatically. Dick knew that the discussion was over when Bruce took that tone of finality. "Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer? Eh Bruce?" Dick remarked with disdain. Bruce nodded. "We all have trust issues."

"I'm staying home, I mean I don't have a date." Barbara complained. Bruce chuckled. "Sure you do. Dick's taking you!" Barbara and Dick exchanged glances. "Get out! No way!" They chorused as Alfred could barely keep from bursting out laughing. His usual stoic British resolve was in jeopardy.

"Give me one good reason that I should go with wonder boy here?" Barbara asked. "I'll give you two - _Evelyn Ferragamo_ and free dinner." Dick challenged. "Rats!" Barb gave in. "Isn't that low level extortion, Bruce?" He smirked. "Let me know now, I can call off the dress fitting."

Bruce had called Barbara's bluff. "Why don't you have bird boy take Selena?" She threw in the dig._ I_ _could do worse_, Dick silently mused. "Where's your team spirit?" Bruce teased Barbara. "Okay! Okay! No one ever said that I wasn't a team player." She stared daggers at Dick.

"Don't even _think_ about kissing me!" She warned him. "I'll pluck every feather from your..." _Ahem._ Alfred cleared his throat to indicate that the discussion was over. "At this point, I'd rather kiss Alfred!" Dick retorted.

"That won't be necessary, Master Dick. A semblance of obedience is all I ask!" Alfred dead panned, cracking Bruce up. "We're all set, then." Bruce continued. _Teenagers!_ He thought sourly. "As soon as Selena gets here, we'll get packed." Dick and Barbara glanced at each other.

"Uh...how long are we staying in Dullsville?" Dick asked worriedly. "As long as it takes." Bruce answered evasively. _All kidding aside, Bruce is onto something big_, Barbara thought. _To leave Gotham on its own for even one night, let alone a weekend or a couple of weeks, god forbid. There's more to this story, Bruce is worried_.

"Where are Dick and I sleeping?" She wondered aloud. "Each of you will have your own rooms at the Metropolis Silver Star, a top of the line resort hotel near Metropolis Bay." Bruce responded. "Nothing but the best for Bruce Wayne, eh Alfred?" Dick finally cracked a smile.

"At least there's an upside to this freak hunt. I'll be at the pool if you want me." He joked. "Maybe some bikini clad evildoers will show up!" Dick added purposely to irritate Barbara.

"You wish, feather head." Barb snapped. "I, on the other hand, am going shopping." She said haughtily. "I can't be caught dead in an _Evelyn Ferragamo_ with the wrong shoes and handbag, _dahling_." Bruce rolled his eyes. "Alfred, why not just give Barb our Gold Max Credit Card?"

Dick's eyes widened. "Hey now! How about bribing me?" Alfred grinned thinly. "You, Master Dick, are included on our major expenses account, and therefore subject to our financial oversight." Bruce chuckled, though below the surface, he indeed was worried about what he might find in Smallville.

"Barb, don't forget to tell your dad about our plans." Bruce reminded her. "You know Bruce," Barbara began icily. "I'm a grown woman now, not that you'd notice." Dick put his tongue in his cheek. "Ooh! Snap!"

Bruce gulped, he should've expected that. "Still Barb, those are the rules! I promised Jim that I'd look after you when you weren't with him."

"Yeah, 'a grown woman now' that still sleeps with a teddy bear named Pookie!" Dick jabbed as Barb fumed. The front doorbell rang. "Saved by the bell, eh Alfred?"

Bruce followed him into the expansive foyer which led to the tall double doors of Wayne Manor. "I should say so, sir." He agreed. "I bet that's her." Barbara snuck a look through the dining room, and through the reception room, as Alfred opened the door.

Dick was right behind her, glancing over her shoulder. "Hi Alfred!" A low slinky voice said from the doorway. "Miss Kyle! It's good to see you again." He said earnestly.

"Bruce, it's been ages." Selena smiled brightly and kissed him on the cheek. Barbara fumed. "Whoa! What a hottie!" Dick exclaimed quietly. "Oh pu-lease!" Barbara snorted.

Selena walked in letting Alfred take her black short coat, and immediately grabbing Bruce by the arm. A black cat followed her in. Dick drooled as he looked over the Catwoman.

She had long fluffy blonde hair below her shoulders, a dynamite figure, bright blue-green eyes, and long legs that ended in four inch black heeled shoes. She wore a spaghetti strap black cocktail dress, which allowed for a good amount of cleavage.

"Oh put your tongue back in your head, bird boy!" Barbara hissed. Bruce guided Selena into the den, motioning the kids to join them. "Selena, this is Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson." He introduced them. "Hello." The Catwoman said graciously. "I didn't know we were taking the children." She sniped.

Bruce reddened. "Uh...tonight we're going to your charity benefit, correct?" Selena nodded confirmation. "I wonder if you'd join us in Metropolis for a benefit there?" Selena looked puzzled.

_Bruce Wayne, the_ _Batman, in hayseed country? That certainly didn't add up_, she mused. _What's his angle?_

"Okay. What charity?" Selena's catlike curiosity had been peaked. "Metropolis Neediest Kids Fund." Bruce answered. "We'll stay at the Silver Star Resort, near the Golden Hawk Casino."

_Now we're getting_ _somewhere,_ Selena thought lustily. "Sure Bruce, I'll go. That's this Saturday?" Bruce nodded.

Barbara thought that she was going to be ill. _This little adventure could prove to be a nightmare. The Queen of Mean as Bruce's arm candy? Yuck_! She silently criticized.

Selena's cat jumped into Barbara's lap, startling her. "Oh look Bruce, Isis likes your little sister, there." Selena teased. Barb reddened as the cat meowed appreciatively. _There's hope for the bat brats yet_, Selena thought sourly.

Next Chapter


	2. Chapter 2: Amethyst 2

Beyond Smallville: Time Shards Part 2 : Amethyst Beyond Smallville: Time Shards Part 2 Amethyst _This amethyst time shard is close to my original reality, except it seems to be taking place a couple of years later_, Clark thought. _Judging by Lois's age and my appearance, it must be 2010. _He reclined in his bed, as Lois slept peacefully by his side.

_Lois is my girlfriend_? Superman shook his head. _Who'd have thought it? _He spotted a fancy, well written invitation on the dresser next to the bed. It was for tonight's _Daily Planet _Charity Ball. Lois had mentioned it in passing earlier in the day, just after Clark appeared in this time shard.

_I suppose a public appearance together might eliminate some Paparazzi type interest, now that Lois is a nationally renowned journalism figure_, Kal speculated. The intrepid young reporter had now garnered a following which stretched from coast to coast. The unwanted attention would later prove to be a problem for both of them. _Lois had gone toe to toe with Lex, uh Julian Luthor_, he mused.

Julian's defeat was a public humiliation and freed the _Daily Planet_ from his evil rule. The ruthless business mogul had cut jobs, causing hundreds of people to become unemployed. Perry White had suddenly reemerged with some substantial financial backing, and wrested the paper from Luthor.

Superman turned on his side to face Lois. _She may be the one after all_, he mused. _As interesting as all this is, I can't see how it helps me with my overall problem, namely saving the Earth's future by redesigning its past. I was able to find Oliver, Bart, AC, and Victor Stone, yet we still have to meet and discuss what I know. Brainiac, and Darkseid were formidable enemies. I'll need all the help I can get._

_Where was this time shard's real Clark Kent, I wonder_? After a while Superman drifted off to sleep. The next morning after breakfast with Lois, Kal guessed that he hadn't told Lois his secret, yet. He did everything he thought that a normal boyfriend would do, including driving Lois to work.

She was to meet with Perry White and his new staff, which left Clark free to explore this alternate reality. Metropolis 2010 didn't appear all that different to him than it had a couple of years ago. Some businesses had come and gone to be sure. The _Daily Planet's _familiar spinning globe had been replaced with a newer one, and the logo had been updated.

"Hey CK!" A familiar voice shouted over the din of onrushing traffic. "Jimmy? How are you?" Clark carefully shook the young photojournalist's hand. "Good." He answered. "When did you get back?" Superman was at a loss. _Clark Kent had gone somewhere, but where_? "Just recently." Kal responded evasively. "How was it?" Jimmy prodded. "Uh, okay. It went as well as could be expected."

Clark replied vaguely. "Have you given any more thought to joining the _Planet'_s staff?" Jimmy had been hanging around with Chloe too much. He'd picked up her habit of on the spot interviewing. "I don't know, Jimmy. I mean how would it be, having Lois and I working so closely together?"

"You and Lois have worked on things before, not necessarily related to the paper." Jimmy remarked. "True. Now things are different." Clark countered. "Different? How so?" He probed like a good cub reporter should. Superman gave him 'the look'. Jimmy gasped. "Oh! I see!"

"You know CK, I had a premonition about you two! She needs you CK, more than anyone else in the world." Jimmy added earnestly. Clark shrugged it off. "Jimmy, what does your newfound psychic ability tell you where the best place for coffee is around here?"

Superman playfully ended the awkward conversation. "Sure, CK." He pleasantly backed off. "The best by far is Caraway Coffee across the street from Metropolis Central Park. I can barely afford to drink there, though. I hope you have deep pockets." Kal smiled. "Thanks, Jimmy."

"C'mon, I'll buy you some overpriced Lattes." Clark offered. They walked across the busy downtown street together. "Hey CK, now that you have a date, are you going to the charity gala tonight at the Royal Metropolis Arms?" Superman considered the question. _Now that I have a date? Had Lois been hiding their current relationship? Was the shoe on the other foot? Had Lois developed trust issues_?

"That's the plan, Jimmy." Kal finally answered. "It sounds like a real snore fest. Are you going?"

Jimmy nodded. "Yup. Chloe and I will be there." Clark patted Jimmy on the back. "How is our intrepid reporter?" Jimmy shifted uneasily. "Okay, I guess. You haven't called her in over a month."

"I guess I've been busy." Superman defended. _Doing what, exactly_? He silently wondered. "She and Lois still talk a lot, don't they?" Jimmy shuffled away again. "Chloe and Lois aren't really that close anymore." He confessed. "Really?" Kal was astonished. "Why? Or shouldn't I ask?"

"Look CK, I love all of you, but I don't want to get in the middle of anything." Jimmy sidestepped the question, which was unusual for him. "I understand. I"ll talk to Lois." He added. "We can't have any ill feelings going on." Kal sighed deeply. _It's always something._

"Thanks CK." Jimmy lightened the mood. "You never know, one day I might pop the question to Chloe, and I'll want all of our friends and relatives to be at the wedding." Clark grinned brightly. "Good. That's a laudable goal, Jimmy. I definitely want to be around for that."

The two of them entered the coffee house under the inconspicuous eyes of Julian Luthor's personal investigators. One was already on his cell phone. "Yeah boss, he's back. He's down the street from the Daily Planet with that photo kid. Do we move?"

High in Luthorcorp Tower, Julian Luthor leaned back in his expensive, imported leather chair. "No, let's just keep an eye on them for now. I'm certain that they'll be at the gala tonight, bleeding hearts that they are. We can plan to get all of them at once, after we confirm their specific interests, of course."

He snapped off the miniature cell phone, and buzzed the intercom in the outer office. Those troublemakers have cost me a small fortune over the years, he thought. Now, they'll pay. "Miss Mercer, can you step into my office for a moment?"

The intercom crackled. A low gruff female voice responded: "Of course sir, I'll be right in."

The WayneCo corporate jet landed at Metropolis International Airport promptly at 4 PM, a full three hours before the start of the _Daily Planet_ Charity Benefits Gala. Bruce, Dick, Barbara, Selena, and Alfred quickly debarked and made their way through a small crowd to a waiting limo.

A few members of the press loitered outside the plane to snap photos of the young billionaire and his crew. One such photojournalist, Jimmy Olsen and a certain reporter named Lois were among the attendees. Selena enjoying all the attention, stopped several times to pose for pictures, much to Bruce's irritation. The international community would now link Selena and Bruce together.

"She's certainly full of herself." Lois told Jimmy sourly. "Yeah." Jimmy smiled lustily, making sure he caught Selena's low cut strapless dress, and long tan legs in his shot. "Easy Olsen, you're fogging up the lens." Lois taunted. He managed to catch Barbara and Dick in some shots as well.

"Uh, Mr. Wayne!" Lois yelled above the milling crowd. "Can you stop for an interview?" Bruce shook his head. "No thank you." He said politely. "I'll be initiating a short press conference during the gala tonight. That's assuming that you're going, Miss...?

"Lane, Lois Lane, Daily Planet." She edged closer to Bruce, much to Selena's objection. Dick and Barbara had felt left out, and horned their way past Alfred to flank Bruce and Selena. Jimmy got a closeup of both Selena and Barbara, before the crowd filled in, distracting them from the camera.

"Miss Lane, I can give you a brief statement." Bruce said gallantly, as he looked over the young reporter. "WayneCo is proud to contribute to the Daily Planet's Neediest Kids Fund. We'll be announcing the exact figures and how they're to be divided later tonight. Thanks to you all."

With that, Bruce and Selena walked away arm in arm, followed by Barb and Dick, while Alfred waited by the limo with the doors open. "Well done, Master Bruce." He praised as he let them all slide in. As usual, Bruce insisted on riding up front with Alfred. The original driver had left after being well paid. "I could get used to this." Selena purred, literally, as she reclined on the leather seats.

"Please don't." Barbara hissed as Dick slid away from the two women. "It'll be hell getting the cat hair out of our clothes." She taunted Selena, who frowned and made a scratching motion with her hands. "Yeah, this will be fun." Dick grumbled as Bruce chuckled.

One trusted member of Bruce's team, Lucius Fox, remained behind in the jet, 'guarding' the cargo. It had been listed officially as Mr. Wayne's personal car, two motorcycles, and supplies. The pilot, Hal Jordan, had taken the WayneCo job on a whim, to supplement his Air Force Test Pilot income.

Jordan had quite the reputation as a party boy. He and Bruce had met at a governmental fund raising event. Bruce had him thoroughly investigated and he'd passed well enough to be hired as a temporary employee. Alfred still had a number of reservations.

Once out of the limelight the crew relaxed at the five star resort hotel. Dick and Barbara had adjoining rooms, as did Alfred and Selena. Bruce, of course, had taken the rooftop penthouse suite for obvious reasons, though the resort hotel was barely seven stories high.

Bruce and Dick hit the pool, as Barbara and Selena began to ready themselves for the dance. Naturally, even among Metropolis's elite, a few nosy hotel residents stopped by to shoot the breeze, or to gawk and shmooze with the young billionaire.

Dick amused himself by viewing the 'local color' as he called it, namely two young pretty college coeds, Brandy and Mary Ellen, from Metropolis University. They usually stopped to shoot the bull with Dick to find out more about Bruce.

One girl he saw didn't fawn over or hit on him or Bruce, which aroused his curiosity. A young woman about his age casually strolled around the pool area in a sensible royal blue one piece swimsuit. She also wore mirrored sunglasses, and appeared to be completely uninterested in them.

Dick couldn't resist. He followed the girl towards the snack bar near the pool area entrance, admiring her form. Her long raven black hair had two long streaks of golden yellow running down it, at opposing ends of her thin face. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. Visible, dangling from her ears, were two silvery, lightning bolt shaped earrings.

"Hey! How's it going?" Dick yelled when he had gotten close enough. The girl, at first, ignored him, but reluctantly turned to face him. "Hello." She said with disinterest. "Are you with anyone?" Dick asked. "Do you see anyone?" The girl replied coldly.

To his credit, Robin didn't give up. "Richard Grayson." He extended a hand. "Lake, Laura Lake." She responded, accepting his hand.

"Do you know who he is?" Dick asked with disbelief, gesturing towards the Batman. Laura shook her head. "No. Should I?" He pointed. "That's Bruce Wayne, Chairman and CEO of WayneCo Industries." Laura stared at him stoically. "Sorry, never heard of him. What're you guys doing here?"

Laura's mood had lightened a bit. _I could certainly use more friends_, she rationalized, _though_ _I doubt if a billionaire would care about me. I know I can't afford to hang out with them_. "We're here for the _Daily Planet_ Charity Benefit." Dick explained. "Sounds like a worthy cause." Laura commented dryly. "What're you doing here?" Robin countered.

"I'm looking to meet someone." Laura reddened. "Let me rephrase that. I'm looking to meet a specific person that said he'd be here." Dick nodded. "Who? Maybe I can help?" He offered, not willing to give up on her, yet. Laura reluctantly decided to trust him.

"Oliver Queen. Do you know him?" Laura asked as Robin stifled a gasp. "Uh…I've never met the guy, but Bruce knows who he is. Would you like to meet him?" Laura nodded. "Fine." Dick led Laura over to Bruce who had just finished socializing with a couple of foreign elites. "Bruce?"

The shirtless Batman was seated comfortably on a posh chaise lounger, sipping an ice tea. "This is Laura Lake." Robin introduced. "She's actually looking for Oliver Queen." Bruce stared at him for a moment, apparently caught by surprise. He stood. "Miss Lake, nice to meet you."

He shook her hand. "Nice firm grip." Batman remarked as he rubbed his hand. Laura smirked. "I didn't mean to bother you, Mr. Wayne." She began. "Richard here insisted that I meet you." Bruce flashed a lopsided grin. "Oh Richard did, did he?" Batman teased Robin who reddened.

"You're here to locate Mr. Queen of Queen Industries?" Bruce started the questioning pleasantly. "Yes, Mr. Queen and I have business." Laura stated evenly. "No, not _that_ kind of business." She took pride in watching both men blush. Batman played it off.

_The scrappy teenager was clearly no pushover_, Bruce critiqued. "Have you ever worked with Mr. Queen before?" Laura sighed. "Nope, I've never met the man." She was unsure of how to proceed. This cloak and dagger stuff was not familiar to her. "Have you ever met him?"

Laura turned the interrogation back on Bruce. "Yes, I've met Mr. Queen a few times." Bruce admitted. _Though I have no idea what he's been up to, I have some suspicions_, he reflected silently. Laura caught Robin checking her out and stared at him. He turned away sheepishly.

"Richard tells me that you're here for the _Daily Planet_ gala?" She continued. "Yes, Miss Lake." He confirmed. "Would you like to go?" Bruce asked politely, probably looking to see what kind of a reaction that would bring. Laura had suddenly gone speechless.

Dick gawked. "I have two extra tickets. Perhaps you can bring Mr. Queen?" Bruce always had a point or ulterior motive for asking any question, it was what made him a great detective, and successful crime-fighter. _What are you up to, Bruce_? Robin wondered silently.

"Um…I can't afford the ticket price." Laura ashamedly admitted. "They're complimentary. I always buy extras for just such an occasion." Bruce urged. "Okay, I'll take one, if you don't mind, Mr. Wayne." She answered without hesitation. _Decisive. I like that. It's a good quality_. Batman mused. "Mr. Queen can certainly buy his own way in." Laura added.

Bruce nodded. "Stop by the service desk, and mention my name, Miss Lake. I'd rather the tickets be used." One long golden yellow swath of hair seemed to have a mind of its own. The offending bang encircled Laura's ear, and ended up near her mouth.

_Damn genetic freak hair_! Laura silently cursed, brushing it away from her face. _I'll be lucky__if my hair doesn't suddenly go blonde, or red, or green! That would really be impressive to Mr. Wayne, and Richard. _"Thank you Mr. Wayne. Will do." Laura said though her mind was elsewhere_. I'll have to zip back to __Nebraska_ to change into the appropriate dress.

"Please, call me Bruce." He shook her hand again, much more carefully this time. "Okay, you can call me Laura, and you too, Richard." Laura smiled brightly. _They seemed like decent sorts_, she observed. "I'll see you both tonight, then?" It was nearly 5 pm. Laura still had to meet up with Oliver.

Simultaneously, Selena and Barbara headed for the pool. They'd done all of the prepping they could before the dance, managing to save a few moments to relax. Bruce and Dick nearly drooled as Selena strolled up to them in a leopard print bikini and four inch heels.

Barbara seemed slightly uncomfortable in her more sensible black and gold one piece swimsuit and flip flops. Laura and Barbara exchanged glances. By comparison, Laura was about a half a head taller than Barb and just a bit taller than Selena. Laura was a little stockier than either of the women.

Dick was in his element now. Thanks to Bruce, he was surrounded by three pretty women. Yet, Robin was growing tired of riding on the Batman's cape tail. He had been considering going out into the world on his own, however he hated to leave Bruce and Barbara alone to carry on in Gotham.

"Brucey, I can't leave you alone for a minute." Selena went out of her way to sound like an airhead, to the point of flipping her long curled blonde hair around her fingers, and glancing at everyone above her designer sunglasses.

This was all part of the Catwoman's persona. She was an actress, a thief, a radical environmental activist, and at the moment, a good friend to Bruce. Any of which, could change on a moment's notice. Selena was split right down the middle between good and evil, love and hate.

She would always bounce between light and dark, wrong and right, depending on which served her current purposes. Selena enjoyed her disguise as a ditzy gold digging blonde, but beneath that, as Bruce well knew, she was shrewd, cunning, and a leather clad master thief.

She took Bruce's arm like a cat pawing her favorite toy. "I didn't know that they let animals in the pool area." Laura commented as she glanced at Selena. "Excuse me?" She frowned. Bruce could almost imagine her claws contracting and opening, as Barbara snickered.

Dick whistled and looked away. "Your cat." Laura pointed to the black short haired feline with the shiny coat near Selena's feet. Isis had followed them through the gated pool area entrance. "Don't worry, she won't bite." Selena began, glancing at Barbara and Dick.

"That is, unless you're a mouse or a bird." She added sarcastically. As they feared, Selena had figured out that Robin and Batgirl had accompanied them to Metropolis. The cat was out of the bag, so to speak. Isis scurried past them to find a nice shady spot, just beyond the swimming pool.

Barbara moved in closer to Dick. "Who's your friend, Romeo?" She teased Robin. "Laura Lake, this is Barbara Gordon and Selena Kyle…our dates for the gala." Dick choked out the words. "Nice to meet you all." Laura said diplomatically. _Graceful, calm, good_, Bruce praised young Laura.

Barbara looked like she was ready to spit nails at Robin. Laura decided that this was as good a time as any to make her exit. "I guess that I'll see you all tonight. Bye." Laura waved. "Thanks again for the ticket offer." Selena waited until Laura was supposedly out of earshot.

"Who's the kid, Bruce?" She grilled. He shrugged. "Laura Lake." It was clear that Bruce didn't trust Selena with the truth. Also, she had a habit of turning young girls towards the criminal lifestyle. Early on, the Catwoman had tried to encourage Barbara to join one of her capers.

Fortunately, Batgirl was able to resist the temptation. Oliver Queen was up to something, and Bruce wanted to know what. _Given an opportunity, the Batman may want to quiz Laura later on_ _tonight_, he thought. Bruce was trained to think several moves ahead.

Laura headed for the Tiki Bar just opposite the pool area. She seated herself near the end of the physical bar. The bartender eyed her suspiciously. "Ice Tea, please." Laura ordered to make a point. He nodded and began searching for the appropriate glass.

After a few moments, Laura was tapped on the shoulder. "Miss Lake?" A woman in her early twenties with long curled blonde hair asked. "Yes. Who wants to know?" She took a sip of her tea. "Dinah Lance. I'm an associate of Oliver Queen. I believe he requested a meeting."

It was not a question. "Sure. Where is he?" Laura turned to face her. "Oliver thought it best to meet privately." Dinah said calmly. Laura didn't trust her of course. It wasn't as if this Dinah could do any damage to her at all. "Fine. When and where?" Laura asked shortly.

She pretended to be uninterested and fearless, though her stomach was doing flips. _Meeting_ _new people is definitely not my strong suit_, Laura thought. "In about a half an hour, be at the hotel billiards room. Third table from the left. I'll be watching nearby, so don't try anything stupid."

Dinah warned, though Laura wanted to smack the irritating blonde, she forced herself to remain calm. "Okay, in a half an hour, then." Laura said, refusing to make eye contact with her.

The strange woman casually walked away, and Laura was alone again, save for the bartender. She continued to people watch, specifically keeping an eye on Bruce, Richard, Selena and Barbara. After a few more moments, Barbara walked up behind her. "Miss Lake?" Batgirl began.

"Yes? Oh hello Miss Gordon." Laura was relieved that it wasn't Oliver's henchwoman. "Barbara, please." Laura nodded. "Can I get you an ice tea?" She offered. "Yes, thanks." Barb mounted the barstool next to her. The bartender returned to take their orders.

After he did so, Laura decided to be more aggressive. Mysterious DVDs, covert meetings with billionaires, and her futile search for Clark, were starting to grate on her young nerves. "You're wondering what business I have with Oliver Queen?" Laura posed, assuming that Richard told her.

"Uh…yeah, actually." Barb began warily. "I know that it's none of my business…" Laura remembered that she still hadn't any real girl friends outside of Shana Springbrook. "I don't mind." _It_ _wouldn't hurt to be friendly_, she considered. "You'll have to tell me about yourself as well."

Barb had expected that comment. Oddly enough, she hadn't any girl friends either. "Okay, as much as I can." She said vaguely. Laura was becoming very curious. _Why would these strangers even_ _care what she was doing_? _There had to be more to all this than attending a charity ball_.

Her gut told her that something was up. Laura decided to trust Barbara with some of the details. "I'm meeting Oliver Queen shortly, I'll know more by then." Laura stated. "Would you like me to back you up? I mean you're going alone, aren't you?" Barb's offer shocked Laura into silence.

"I appreciate that." She finally said. "It's nothing major, I hope." Laura continued. "I just met one of Queen's female minions. I didn't care much for her attitude." Barb's curiosity was peaked. "I have to deliver some information to Queen." Laura added.

"He should have some for me as well. I can't go into any details of course." Barb nodded, letting her reddish brown hair flip to one side. "I understand. It's nothing illegal, is it?" Batgirl pried. "No, I don't think so." Laura was to deliver two DVD discs that she had to Oliver personally.

He, in turn, was supposed to share his DVDs with her. All four discs had been sent by Chloe Sullivan, who was currently in trouble with the Feds, and the Luthors.

(See Beyond Smallville: _Evolution_)

"I have to go." Laura said. Barbara glanced over her shoulder at Bruce and Dick. Selena had thankfully taken to snoozing quietly on the expensive chaise lounger with a frilly cocktail in her hand. _Perhaps she's taking a cat nap_, Barb smirked at the thought.

Bruce watched everyone suspiciously, and Dick had been swimming laps across the pool. _Good, no one would notice that I left_. "Right behind you, Laura." The two teens headed into the hotel and patiently made their way into the billiards room. Barbara dropped back.

She chose to watch from nearby, in case Queen was plotting something off color. She'd seen pictures of the young billionaire, but had never met him. If Laura was being set up, it was up to Batgirl to swoop in and save the day. Laura found the predetermined pool table.

Oliver Queen was a blonde haired man of about twenty five, Laura guessed. He was dressed in a light green Polo shirt, and black cutoff jeans shorts. He had a squared jaw with a small dimple at the center of his chin. He was growing a new moustache and goatee.

"Miss Lake?" Oliver asked without losing any concentration on his shot. He hit the cue ball squarely and pocketed three successive solid colored balls. "Mr. Queen?" Laura asked, folding her arms across her ample chest. "I take it you have the items?" He questioned, lining up his next shot.

"Certainly. You also know that I didn't bring them here with me." Oliver hit the cue ball and pocketed two more solids. "A sensible precaution." Oliver commented. "I have my discs nearby." Laura leaned on the edge of the table, pushing it down, causing him to miss his next shot. "Very well." He glanced at her with some annoyance. "Let's see some ID." Laura demanded.

Oliver frowned as he reached into his hip pocket and produced a driver's license. _Was Laura_ _in league with someone else, like Luthor_? He wondered. _Was she holding out for money to release_ _Chloe's data_? 'Oliver Queen', Laura read silently. _It could have been faked_, she imagined.

At the moment it seemed legit. Meanwhile, at the back of the room: "Find anything interesting?" Dinah asked coyly. She'd come up behind Barbara, startling her.

"Huh?" Batgirl whirled and flashed her most 'innocent' look. "Let's go, red." Dinah ordered, pushing Barb forward. "Hi Oliver, I guess we have a new friend." Dinah's voice dripped with sarcasm as she guided Barb to the pool table. Laura rolled her eyes, handing Oliver his wallet back.

"You have a back up." Oliver praised. "Good thinking. I like that. I'm all about teamwork." He boasted. "You can get the discs and we'll wait here." He offered. Laura glanced at Dinah expectantly. The blonde meta human opened her small black shoulder strap purse.

She produced the DVDs, quickly replacing them in the purse. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Oliver joked suggestively. "In the meantime, we'll keep your friend, Miss…?" Batgirl sighed. "Barbara Gordon." Oliver smirked. "We'll keep Miss Gordon busy."

_Some back up I turned out to be_, she mused. _I'm really good at getting myself captured_, she grimaced, glancing apologetically at Laura. "We'll be here." Oliver chalked up his cue stick. "Miss Gordon, care to play?" Dinah grinned darkly, as she sat on a raised stool behind Barbara. "I'll be right back." Laura grumbled. With that, Laura stormed off to Clark's barn, where she'd hidden the discs.

Of course, Laura had made copies of Chloe's discs, and would reluctantly give Oliver his copies as Chloe had instructed. She zipped back to Oliver in moments, just as he and Barb were finishing their game. This was all done under the watchful eyes of Dinah, who seemed to be quickly growing bored with the whole scene.

Oliver studied Laura carefully, trying to determine his next move. "Here you go." She handed Oliver the discs. "Just like that?" Dinah asked with skepticism. Barbara shifted uneasily as she climbed up onto the bar stool.

"Look Queen," Laura began. "I happen to care about Chloe", _actually Clark_, she thought. "I'm not one to chase the almighty dollar." Oliver was testing her. She'd passed, as a potential candidate for his new 'club'.

Barbara, trained briefly as a criminal investigator, silently observed all of the exchanges, and she committed their names to memory. She'd have quite a bit to report to Bruce about, tonight, before the gala.

"Okay Miss Lake." Oliver grinned arrogantly. "You and your friend can go without any further harassment. Unless you'd care to tell me how you know Chloe?" He fished. Laura smirked. "Sorry. No can do." She added: "I have to get ready for the dance."

Dinah's eyebrows rose. "The _Daily Planet_ bash?" She hopped off her perch, startling Barbara. "That's the one." Laura confirmed as she gestured for Barb to follow. "After all, it's all in who you know, isn't it?" Oliver folded his arms, _trustworthy, determined_, _and a bit of a smart ass_. He mused. _I think i'm beginning to like her_.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Queen, Miss Lance." Laura said smugly as Barb stepped in behind her, without taking her eyes of Oliver's blonde sidekick. "See you." He gave them a mock salute, and handed the discs off to Dinah.

The girls left to return to the swimming pool area, leaving the couple to debate the day's events. "What do you think, Di?" Oliver questioned his new girlfriend. "She's a bit cocky." The Black Canary criticized. "Not unlike someone I know." The Green Arrow flirted. "The question is, why is young Miss Lake so confident?"

Dinah shrugged. "I wonder...do you think I should follow her?" Oliver shook his head. "No, we know where she'll be tonight. Besides, I want to decode these discs. They may contain the final clues to Chloe's whereabouts."

Laura walked back to where Bruce and Richard had been standing. Naturally, the boys were gone, and Selena was just packing up her towel and glasses. "Not going for a dip?" Laura asked casually, as Barb rolled her eyes.

"No thanks. Cats hate water." Selena snickered as Isis padded out from behind the foliage, and quickly sauntered up beside her owner. "I see." Laura watched as Selena smiled evilly and strolled towards the poolside elevator. Barb sighed with disgust.

"What's with the cat lady?" Laura wondered. "Don't ask. Anyway, she's Bruce's problem tonight. See you later?" Batgirl asked hopefully.

"Sure, until then, and thanks for backing me up." Laura said diplomatically. "Sorry I couldn't be of more help." Barb apologized. "No big deal. I knew that Oliver and his _Amazon_ lackey wouldn't make an issue of anything. See you."

Batgirl waved as Laura carefully walked away, disappearing in an instant, behind a nearby stock delivery truck. Barb stood there analyzing her new friend. _There is_ _something very different about that girl_, she observed. _She's way too sure of herself_.

In Laura's mind, nothing could have been further from the truth. Meanwhile, across town, some very dramatic changes were taking place.

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter


	3. Chapter 3: Free Chloe

Beyond Smallville: Time Shards Part 2 : Free Chloe Beyond Smallville: Time Shards Part 2 Free Chloe

Chapter 3: _Free Chloe_

Clark and Jimmy Olsen had a nice long talk, well, as long as a given lunch hour would permit. He'd mentioned to Clark that Perry White had taken over from Julian Luthor as the _Daily__Planet's_ chief editor. Lois had bargained forcefully with the youngest Luthor.

The brash young reporter and Army brat had threatened to expose any number of dark Luthor family secrets, regardless of proof. Just the gossip Lois would create should have been enough to drive the Luthorcorp stock down in this nervous and edgy economic market.

Sadly, the newsprint industry seemed to be on it's last legs. Lois had made it a point to increase her computer skills, honing them to become above average, and make the jump to newspapers on line. Lois could become an interactive journalist if need be.

The sexy twenty-four year old hoped that her longtime friend and current honey, Clark, would follow in her footsteps. As always, Superman was wishy-washy on the idea, only recently had he been seriously considering it. Today, Lois would finally get some good news.

Clark had made a decision, actually a number of them. Kal met Lois for lunch so they could finalize their plans for the evening. She'd talked Clark into taking her to the _Daily Planet_ gala. Fratillo's, a nicely priced soup and sandwich place near the_ Planet_ was their meeting place.

Clark pulled out the chair for his alleged girlfriend. She smiled appreciatively. After ordering, Lois filled Clark in on the departmental meeting with Perry White. As the sandwiches arrived, Superman felt a strong wave of happiness roll over him.

He hadn't felt this good since he and Lana...were together. Though this time shard was still based on an alternate reality, Kal felt comfortable with Lois, _like it was meant to be. _"What are you so chipper about, Smallville?" she asked in between gulps of chilly iced tea.

"Lois," Clark took her hand in his. She glared at him worriedly. _He's got that look_, she observed. _The one that Oliver had before he broke up with me. I don't need another heartbreak_.

"I've decided to accept the job at the Daily Planet, if it's still available, and Perry will have me." Superman explained. "Are you sure that you won't mind...me being in your face all the time?"

Lois breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh Clark, that's wonderful!" She beamed. "Don't worry sweetie, with Perry running the show, and the _Daily Planet_ racing to catch up with the twenty-first century, we'll see each other every day, yet Perry will probably split us up to chase leads."

"Is that okay with you?" Clark inquired as Lois nodded. "I'll be fine as long as you're there to help me." Superman said. Lois was getting teary-eyed. "Aww!" She quickly got up and kissed Clark purposefully. After reseating herself, Lois continued.

"It will probably be like the blind leading the blind, anyway. We're both newbie reporters, but we'll manage. Somehow, I always muddle through." Concluding, she added: "Chloe also said that she'd give us some pointers whenever she resurfaces."

Kal changed the subject. "Oliver called me. He said that he'd located Chloe through the clues she'd left on the discs." Lois was intrigued, and hearing her old boyfriend's name didn't faze her. Mentally, she was nearly committed to Clark. _Physically, he seemed to be a bit on the shy side_, she mused. Lois considered Clark a challenge. "How bad is it?" She asked.

"Bad." Superman replied. "The Feds have her locked up in no man's land near western Nevada." Lois gasped. "Is she out...I mean out on bail or something?" Kal glanced around to make sure no one was paying them any mind. It seemed clear. "No. We're going to get her."

Clark's announcement sounded menacing. Lois's eyes went wide. "Get her? From the Feds?" Kal nodded. "We can't do anything legally?" She held out a slight hope. "No. Oliver will pull some strings to cover our tracks, but we're on our own." Superman informed her. "I'm in!" Lois stated.

"There goes our promising careers at the _Planet_." She added, shaking her head. Clark took her hands again. "They're watching you and me." He began. "I don't officially work for the paper yet. You do, Lois. You'll have to stay behind in case this all blows up in our faces."

"Why?" Lois wondered with determination. "It's just a job. I'll find another one." Clark looked directly into her eyes. "That's not the point." he added. "You'll be our contact person on the outside, so to speak. If the Feds catch us, we'll all need good lawyers." Clark said cynically.

"I have no intention of disappearing...being erased by the U.S. Government." He knew that no normal prison could ever hold him, but the bigger picture would be Clark's focus from now on. He'd have to tell Lois the entire truth one day soon, yet for now, Kal played it simply.

Clark Kent was a common mild-mannered guy. Superman would be the hero, and Kal would be the outsider, above the fray. This time shard was the closest to reality that Clark found so far. The alien super-hero would still need to shore the whole process up a bit. _Things may be starting to swing my way._

"I'm meeting Oliver and a few others right after lunch." Clark explained, as Lois hurriedly finished her sandwich. "You don't mind seeing my ex?" She asked playfully. "I'm interested in the bigger picture." Superman dead panned. "Besides, Oliver is hooked up with Dinah Lance. We'll see them at the charity benefit tonight."

"I'm sorry, Clark. I should never have mentioned the stupid gala. I should've been more concerned about my cousin, Jimmy, and you. Outside of the General and Lucy, you're all I've got." Clark brushed the apology off. "No problem, Lois. The dance will be the perfect cover for us all."

"Oliver and I have everything all worked out." Clark flashed her a lopsided grin. "You know, Lois, he's all right for a green leather clad, nosy billionaire, with a smart ass attitude." Kal joked. "We may be putting a team together, if you don't mind socializing with him."

"Really? Like what, a bowling team, or a baseball team?" Lois quipped. "I mean what could we possibly have in common with an annoying, adventure seeking billionaire who dresses funny?" Clark chuckled. "You'd be surprised, Lois."She held his hands tightly.

"What does the guy believe in?" She wondered. "I don't know...truth, justice, and the American way?" Clark teased. She playfully hit him in the shoulder. "Oh what-ever! Gotta go, honey." Lois said as she got up and kissed him on the neck. Lois pulled out her small wallet. "I've got it, Lois."

Clark pulled out a nice, crisp, twenty dollar bill. "What? Did you win the lottery?" She joked. "Nope. I sold some fresh, ripe, tomatoes to Jimmy's uncle on the way here. Lois smirked. "Clark Kent, from agricultural entrepreneur to mild mannered reporter. Who'd have thought it?"

Clark paid the bill, and they walked away arm in arm. The young journalists headed for the _Daily_ _Planet._ All the while, they'd been under surveillance from a number of sources. "The Kent kid is with Lois Lane." The gruff voiced henchman spoke into a cell phone, as he reported to his boss.

"I'm starting to see a pattern here." Julian Luthor said. "Nice work, Phil." As he snapped off the phone, the thug took a break, watching Lois and Clark enter the vast _Daily Planet_ lobby. That would be the first of many such entrances in this time line and some others. History was beginning anew.

Nearby, Agent Wellesley recorded Kent's time of arrival and their departure together. He felt certain that the alleged Smallville farm boy was up to his _red_ neck in something illicit. As of yet, there had been no proof of any wrongdoing. Wellesley was confident that he would be able to build a case.

The FBI wanted to keep as low a profile as possible, so picking up Lane and Kent wasn't in the cards for now. It looked to the senior agent that Lane and Kent were embroiled in some type of close relationship. By extension, both knew Chloe Sullivan and James Olsen.

Add to that Luthorcorp's involvement with them and any number of questionably funded projects, and Wellesley had stumbled into the center of the case of a lifetime. Bringing down all of them would go a long way toward furthering his career, the ambitious agent considered.

Clark arranged to meet Oliver, Dinah, AC, Bart, and Victor Stone at his farm around 2 PM. Through his unusual internet connections, Victor, or _Cyborg_ as he was covertly known, had found out where Chloe was being held, and she was listed to be transferred tomorrow to a new facility.

This was when the team would make their move. "Just like ol' times, eh Stretch?" Bart Allen, known as Impulse, joked. "Yes and no, Bart." Superman responded vaguely. Kal had decided not to tell his friends about his time traveling adventures. It was bad enough, in his opinion, that he knew so much about Earth's future, let alone spreading the morbid news to the others.

The more Clark meddled in the time shards, the more screwed up things seemed to get. However, now was the time to create and join the _Justice League of America_, some years earlier than he'd done in the original time line. It would give them all more time to plan for Darkseid's attack.

The _JLA_ would be essential to planning Earth's defenses. For now, Chloe's release was the first item on the agenda. "It sounds simple enough," Arthur Curry, known as _Aquaman_, said. "We create the distractions at opposite ends of the base, and _Boy Scout _and _Impulse_ run in, kick ass, and grab Chlo'"

"Boy Scout, Eh?" Clark chuckled. _I hadn't heard that nickname in years_. "Take it or leave it, Clark." Oliver smirked as he and Dinah walked into the Kent's barn. They knew that Luthor and the Feds were both on stakeout nearby. Impulse and Clark had zipped around the area earlier.

They'd located an approaching black SUV with U S Government plates on the two lane road leading to the farm. Dinah pretended that her car had broken down conveniently stretching across both lanes of the highway, blocking any traffic, which forced the SUV to stop.

Cyborg snuck up alongside the Feds, and zapped the electrical parts of the truck, subsequently jamming their frequency to call for help, and eliminating their ability to track movement. Dinah used her voice as a sonic weapon, screaming the agents into unconsciousness. It would delay them long enough.

They'd be fine, waking up with severe pounding headaches. The super heroes were set to complete their meeting. Dinah Lance, a master of disguises, had dressed like a common hick farm girl, in a denim jumper, cutoff blue jean shorts, and a ratty off white low cut tee shirt.

For fun, she'd worn cow patty kicker boots, and twin reddish pigtails in her hair. "Love the new look, _Black Canary_." Victor joked. She winced as Oliver laughed, helping Dinah strip off the orange red wig, and allowing her long blonde hair to tumble freely down her bare back.

After all of the plans had been revealed, Oliver coined his trademark phrase, 'okay everyone, wheels up in ten minutes'. _Green Arrow_ and _Black Canary_ were to stay in Metropolis. The Feds already knew that Chloe had a connection of some type to Queen Industries. Oliver denied that, of course.

"Okay it's three hours or so to western Nevada, via the Queen corporate jet." Oliver informed everyone. "True, but it's only an hour to Branson, Missouri." Victor pointed out. "I can access the Feds database from there. A little casino I know is actually a Fed front for a gambling sting operation.

I'll show up on their grid as a private investigator looking for clues to Chloe's disappearance. Once I'm in, I'll create all kinds of havoc with the Las Vegas power grid. I can instruct the system to create rolling brown outs all through the left coast. The National Security Agency will be jumping.

To NSA, I'll resemble a terrorist checking grid systems for some sabotage. The facility that's holding Chloe will be confused, chasing their collective tails trying to locate the source." Victor explained. "I won't damage any essential legit security files."

"That leaves Bart and I to spin out west and grab Chloe." Superman concluded. "Won't they just pick her up again?" Dinah asked the obvious question. "Nope." Oliver answered. "You know how the black helicopter crowd operates. As soon as we have Chloe, I'll erase her file with the Feds."

"I'll re-file her case under an assumed name, like Nelly Blye. The Feds will have egg on their face, knowing that they allowed a prisoner to escape, and brush the whole thing under the carpet." AC smiled brightly. "Dude! That's brilliant!" Aquaman complimented. "Naturally." Oliver was playfully arrogant. "AC, you'll be playing tag with the Lake Mead / Hoover Dam security."

"That will keep the NSA busy trying to locate a trespasser." He added. "Sounds like a blast. I've never seen the dam up close and personally." AC remarked. "Like shooting fish in a barrel." Bart commented, purposely to irritate Aquaman. "Hey bro', one day those fish will be shooting back!" AC warned half seriously.

No one truly knew all of Aquaman's secrets yet. He kept much of his personal information quiet, as Clark did. Oliver didn't mind as long as every team member did his or her part on the mission. "2:45."

Oliver announced. "Let's roll! See you tonight, Clark?" Superman nodded. "Sure." He confirmed.

"Dude, you're seeing Lois now?" AC fished. "Yes, I guess so. We haven't really outlined our relationship yet." Kal replied. "Bro' I am so jealous! She's a hottie. I hope you keep her and don't throw her back!" Bart gave Clark a high five. "Sweet! I still think the Chloe-ster is hot, though."

Clark chuckled. "Don't let Jimmy hear you say that." Impulse zipped around in a circle. Bart always seemed so hyper, he mused. The team split off in their directions. Superman and Impulse checked on the Feds, who were still sleeping it off in the SUV. They'd wake up with nasty attitudes.

Victor set off for Branson. He could run fairly fast, but only at a fraction of Clark and Bart's speed. Cyborg was limited to odd roads and deserted highways, but he'd arrive at his destination in plenty of time to start the security system invasion.

Oliver and Dinah headed for the Silver Star Resort. There was one more piece of the puzzle to acquire. Though they'd located Chloe, the two discs that Oliver didn't have in his possession, had tons of data on Luthorcorp's activities. Lana had wrangled some more info out of Luthor's mansion.

The super hero couple had registered at the five star hotel specifically to meet with some possible new additions to their little club. Meanwhile, AC swam like a lightning bolt underwater towards Hoover Dam. Near the border of Nevada and Arizona, the dam was a marvel of modern architecture.

AC climbed casually out of Lake Mead, surprising a number of tourists that hadn't seen him coming. He strong-armed a couple of guards, and set about causing chaos without really damaging the dam's intricate systems. He rerouted the subroutines, tripping alarms all along the west coast.

The NSA would surely think it was a terrorist attack or perhaps a disgruntled employee's revenge. The incessant rerouting would keep the NSA busy for hours. Eventually, the technicians would reverse all of the changes that AC made, returning the dam back to normal operations.

At precisely 4 pm, Victor had hijacked the database involving the west coast's electrical grid. Chloe was being held at Ellsworth, Nevada, a hole in the wall glorified truck stop northwest of Las Vegas. He sent power surges and brown outs from Las Vegas to Reno. Just for fun, he screwed with the California power grid as well. Some people would blame the California government for the mess.

Victor made it look like there was a cascading failure in the west coast power grid. That would give the NSA and other agencies headaches for hours if not days. It served as a distraction from their true target, the compound where Chloe was imprisoned.

Clark and Bart stormed the small government facility. Impulse tore through the Ellsworth base, overturning carts, upsetting furniture, knocking out cameras, tripping alarms, and bowling over any guards. He even had time to stop for a cheeseburger and a pop in the facility cafeteria.

Clark encountered little resistance as he zoomed through the cell block of the minimum security prison, laughingly referred to as a 'holding facility'. Two guards stepped in front of Clark, with weapons drawn. He was in no mood to be charitable, knocking both their heads together. They were out cold.

Chloe's cell resembled a see through single room occupancy apartment. The SRO cell, roughly the size of a motel room, was guarded by one automatic weapon toting NSA thug. Superman sped up alongside him, tapped him on the shoulder, and promptly but carefully decked him.

"Good night and sleep well." Kal joked, being unusually cocky. He paused for a moment, before opening Chloe's cell. _You know, I'm really enjoying this_, he admitted silently. He wondered if there was any Red K around, but wrote it off to simply being in a strange mood. _Is that so wrong_...?

Clark ripped open Chloe's cell door. "Hey Chlo' it's time to go! I'm sorry I took so long." He apologized. Chloe's eyes were a little unfocused, as she sat up on her bed. "Are you okay?" Superman asked worriedly. After a moment, Chloe's attention returned. "Clark! Thanks for coming after me."

She sounded happy, but Clark could tell that she wasn't quite herself. He picked her up, and zipped past the still unconscious guard. "AC, Bart, Victor, Oliver, and I are working together again." He informed her as they dashed down corridor after corridor. "Oliver has engineered your release."

"It wasn't exactly legal, but there was no other way." Kal added as Chloe nodded absently. "Maybe I'd better use the Clark Kent express." He thought that he felt a surge of energy from Chloe, and made it a point to question her about it when she felt better.

Clark zigzagged past everyone on the base and off of the government property, where Bart was about to meet up with them. Impulse had finished harassing the guards and slowed to a stop beside Chloe and Clark creating a cloud of swirling sand. The hot desert sun seemed to energize Chloe a bit.

"Hey Chloe-meister!" Bart kissed her hand cheerfully. "Long time no see." Chloe forced a weak smile. "Hi Bart!" She acknowledged him, but Clark could still tell that something was wrong. He quickly used his x-ray vision to check her over. She appeared to be okay, except for a minor yellowish glow.

Superman wasn't sure if it was his eyes, of if Chloe had ingested something out of the ordinary. "Aquaman? This is Impulse." Bart spoke into a new wristwatch style communicator that Oliver had bought them. Chloe glanced down at it, drawn to it's electrical output frequency. "Neat, huh?"

"Maybe Ollie should put one under every good little girl and boy's tree this Christmas." Bart quipped. Chloe stared at him vacantly. "I think she's just tired." Clark defended her weakly. He still held her in his arms. "Let's jet!" AC's voice returned clearly on the device. "Impulse?"

"Okay fish breath, we have Oracle, Boy Scout and I are going supersonic!" Bart playfully replied. "Impulse out!" Clark carried Chloe to Las Vegas. Bart followed with a puzzled expression on his thin face. "You have a gambling problem or something, CK?" He taunted.

A streaking dot appeared on the horizon far from the city limits. It came in low, cautiously skirting McLaughlin International Airport. The dot grew larger and suddenly dropped out of sight. In seconds, Kara Kent appeared, startling Bart. "Whoa! Who's the blonde babe?"

Kara stared at him. "Bart, this is my cousin, Kara." He introduced her. Clark put Chloe down and she stood, wavering a bit. Chloe grabbed Clark and kissed him deeply, making Kara frown and Bart whistle. "Hey, where's my kiss?" He complained. Chloe gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Don't forget about Jimmy." Superman chided her. "Well Clark, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." She joked, sounding more like her old self. Kara picked Chloe up and flew straight up, disappearing in a rare cloud bank. "Holy crap!" Bart exclaimed. "She flew! That is not normal!"

"Bart, nothing about any of this is normal." Kal said with disdain. "Is she available?" Impulse asked as Clark groaned. "I have no idea, she's very temperamental." Kara rocketed towards Metropolis, and Chloe could only manage a gasp, given the high speed at which Kara flew.

"How come you can't fly?" Bart asked the obvious. "I don't know, maybe my heart's just not in it." He responded, sorry that he still had to maintain appearances. "Can we get her to join our little group?" Bart pressed. "I'm not sure, don't forget, she's still a teenager." Kal replied halfheartedly.

"So was I when you and Oliver found me. Now I'm street legal." Impulse laughed. "Race you to Metropolis?" Clark smirked. "You're on!" He let Bart dissolve into his traditional lightning bolt before zipping in behind him. _What the hell? I might as well try it!_ Superman reasoned.

About halfway through Oklahoma, Superman jumped up and took flight, remembering to fly below the radar. He hit the ground running in western Kansas, and pulled in a second or two after Bart. "Still too slow, Bro'." Bart taunted. "But you're getting better..._Boy Scout_!"

Kara had dropped Chloe off at their apartment above the Talon. Lois was still at work. Chloe had barely remembered to thank Kara before she'd left. _Clark was right, I am tired,_ she thought. Chloe went over to her desktop computer and touched the power cord with one finger.

Immediately, it whirred to life. Her old _Daily Planet _screen saver came up. _Next time, I'll use the on and off switch_, she reminded herself. Chloe pulled up her files on meteor freak anomalies...

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter


	4. Chapter 4: And Justice for All

Beyond Smallville: Time Shards Part 2 : And Justice For All Beyond Smallville: Time Shards Part 2 And Justice For All

…And Justice For All: _episode_ _7.23_

Oliver and Dinah had nearly finished getting ready for the gala. He'd checked with the team and reported the good news to Black Canary. "Not bad, slick." Dinah praised as she kissed him passionately.

"You and the crew broke into a supposedly secure government system over a thousand miles away, rescued Chloe, and returned to Metropolis in a span of six hours."

"We're just good at multi-tasking." Oliver said with unusual humility. "We'll have quite a team from now on." Dinah added. "I hope that Clark decides to join up formally."

"You kind of like the overgrown Boy Scout, don't you?" Ollie teased his girlfriend, kissing her neck, and clipping an expensive diamond necklace together around it. "He's okay." Dinah downplayed. "Clark always seems to have that 'deer in the headlights' look going on."

She let Oliver zip up the back of her fancy black and gold evening gown. "Yeah, he's almost alien." Green Arrow said, unaware of how close he was to the truth. "Shall we attend the ball m'lady?"

Oliver overacted, bowing low before Dinah, whose big bright eyes glistened. One wonders if that was her natural look. "Anyway, we couldn't let Chloe rot in jail for helping us on our missions. Besides, she knows far too much about our team. Clark seemed to think that Chloe was different somehow."

Black Canary, the Mistress of Disguise, was much more than Oliver's girlfriend. She had no idea how she came upon her unusual sonic superpower. In her mind, she woke up one day and it was there. The twenty-something blonde used her power of sound frequency disruption as a weapon, usually for defense. Clark found that out the hard way. ("Siren")

Dinah also possessed far more agility than a normal human, perhaps a Meta-Human? "I know how the government works when questioning a suspect. They probably forced Chloe into sleep deprivation, pumped her full of hallucinogens, and that's if they go easy on her." Dinah informed him. "I'm surprised that she decided to join us at the gala."

Meanwhile, across from the Royal Metropolis Arms Hotel, where the charity event was to be held, some of the invited guests weren't quite ready yet. Bruce, Dick, Barbara, and Selena had taken up positions atop the Sentinel Security Building, which had been partially funded by WayneCo. They were in full costume. The SSB rooftop was directly across from the hotel.

"Aren't we supposed to be _in_ the dance, not gaping at it from across the street?" Selena complained. She'd opted to wear her black strapless dress and her Catwoman mask. Barb and Dick were in their usual Batgirl and Robin outfits. They'd change in the limo downstairs.

Bruce was in his traditional Batman costume, minus a number of bat utility belt items to save space. He pulled a bat communicator from his side pocket. In the other hand, he held super powered bat vision night goggles, which acted like high powered binoculars.

"Catwoman, haven't you ever heard of being fashionably late?" Batman taunted over the bat comm. "I suppose, but I would have rather been making out in the limo, than standing on this grimy old roof." Robin snickered as Batgirl snorted in disgust.

Batman reddened, but of course no one could see it. "Just a few more minutes Selena." Bruce assured her. "I wanted to get a look at some of the rich and famous natives of Metropolis." _If you_ _want to find something out, follow the money. Detective 101_, Bruce thought cynically.

"I'm recording all of the guests, Batman." Robin said as he pushed a key on his own bat communicator. "I'm tracking all of the license plates of the rich and shameless." Batgirl put in. "No offense, Batman." Bruce chuckled. "None taken."

"There's Oliver Queen and his arm candy." Catwoman mentioned. "You know Oliver?" Barb asked. _More than likely you stole from him_, she silently criticized. "No, but I do read GQ, Forbes, and Newsweek." Selena answered.

"Were you searching for a new Tom Cat?" Barb jabbed, making Dick uneasy, who'd unwisely placed himself between the two girls.

"Somehow, I can't see you two sharing a domestic litter box." Batgirl continued to berate Selena. "Meow!" Catwoman gestured with one hand in a cat scratching manner, fingernails extended. "Aren't we being catty tonight?" Selena countered as Robin sighed.

_This was going to be a long_ _night_. The gala had been in full swing for about an hour by now.

Batman had placed two motion sensor devices on the fire escape and the edge of the rooftop guard, to give him the advantage, were he to need to escape quickly or face a foe. The others hadn't remembered to do so as they watched from a different rooftop section. This gave the crime-fighters two opposing perspectives on the Royal Arms entrance.

Bruce's section faced the alley below, and the others faced Main Street, where the valet parking company moved the cars. Batman was convinced they'd seen enough. Bruce Wayne was due to give his speech in less than a half an hour. "Okay Robin, fire off the mini bat microphone and let's get down to the hotel and change." He directed. "Finally!" Catwoman grumbled.

"What's the matter, Catwoman, didn't you get your full cat nap today?" Batgirl slammed. "Ask Brucey." Selena smirked seductively. Barb made a vomiting noise, as Robin fired the bat mike.

The speed propelled launcher was true, however, Dick's aim was not. The miniature bat shaped mike flew through the open window, sped across the room, and sliced through a certain female reporter's martini glass, shattering it.

Lois Lane held back a shriek. "WTF!" she exclaimed as Clark quickly came up beside her. The bat mike whizzed past her, and stuck itself to the wall behind the Hors D'Oeurves table. "What's wrong, Lois?" He'd had his back turned and therefore never saw the bat mike sail in.

"My martini glass is trashed!" She replied and waved for the waiter. "Was the glass half full, or half empty?" Clark teased her. "Real cute, Smallville." Lois grinned as the waiter took the glass stem away, and began to frantically search for another one.

"Maybe you shouldn't be downing your martinis so quickly?" Kal suggested. "Oh pu-lease, Smallville! A few watered down martinis don't mean that I've fallen off the wagon. Besides, it just might put me in the mood…" She flirted heavily, embarrassing Clark.

"Great shooting, Bird Boy!" Selena hissed, literally. "What? What happened?" Batman asked warily. "Oh nothing, Batman. It's just that dead eye here shot out that reporter chick's martini glass." Barb spoke quietly into her wrist communicator. Bruce sighed. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, no harm done." Robin cut in. "The bat mike is on the wall by the snacks. Is that okay, Batman?" Silence. "Batman?" Robin twisted his communicator around, assuming that it stopped working. Even state of the art WayneCo technology could sometimes be quirky.

Laura Lake got out of the cab and stretched leisurely. It felt odd to her going to an adult, semi-formal charity benefit at her age, and dateless besides. Curiosity had gotten the better of the teenage meta-human, since she'd met Bruce Wayne, Richard Grayson, and Barbara Gordon. Selena Kyle she could do without, yet they'd all be together at the gala tonight.

Laura was wearing her expensive black dress for the very first time. That, and the way she'd been made up with a little help from her Aunt Wanda, made her look much older. She crossed the street heading towards the Royal Arms Hotel lobby. Something caught her eye.

There was a greenish reflection on the dimly lit rooftop above the alley. Laura's eyesight was very good, and had even improved since she'd ingested the _loracite_. (See Laura Lake origin)

She saw a dark, hooded figure leaning over the roof's edge of the SSB Building. Laura was certain that he or she was up to no good. On the other hand, he could have just been an overzealous security guard for one of the local big shots attending the benefit.

_As my luck would have it, probably not_, Laura thought, _so much for my nice new dress_. She slipped into the alleyway. Laura glanced around, and then pulled off a twenty foot vertical jump, settling on a fire escape landing, some two stories high.

She quickly ascended the next few levels of the fire escape, until she reached the landing just below the entrance to the rooftop.

Laura spotted a small, black, device shaped like a bird, which hung magnetically on a vertical rail, at about her ankle's height. It was likely an infrared alarm, she guessed.

_Someone doesn't want any company up here_, she mused. Laura leaped above the device, perching on a horizontal rail just long enough to flip up on top of the roof, cart wheeling over another infrared device, roughly in the shape of a bat. The alarm was along the edge of the roof.

Sure enough, the figure was gazing through binoculars at the Royal Arms' entrance.

Laura's stealthy approach enabled her to check over the alleged peeping Tom. She didn't see any weapons, but noted that the watcher was dressed oddly, in a cape and cowl? Laura silently wondered. That could be only one person, but why was he here in Metropolis?

Laura had read about the Gotham City bat man in the Daily Planet, Nebraska Times, and a host of other periodicals. The Batman was a type of vigilante helping the Gotham Police Department to solve crimes, she recalled.

She used her super speed to come up behind the masked man, and not frighten him off. Laura put one hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly.

"The hell are you doing here?" She questioned. "I might ask you the same thing." Bruce grumbled. _How did she get past my security alarms_? "I saw you lurking up here and decided to investigate." Laura defended.

Bruce's first instinct was to use his armored gauntlet glove to deflect an attack and hopefully shove his assailant away, making his escape. Naturally, Batman's move had no effect on Laura's iron grip. He spun one foot low in an attempt to knock Laura off her feet. She deftly leapt over his traditional martial arts move.

"Relax, bat dude!" She reassured him. "I'm on your side, or might want to be one day." Bruce recognized her as the girl from the pool. _Clearly there was more to_ _young __Miss_ Lake than I know.

"I already have some partners, sorry." Bruce forced his voice down low, just above a growl. Batman again tried to shake loose from Laura's grip. He nearly slipped on the grimy rooftop.

Of course, Bruce was confident that if he fell, he could use a bat grappler hook to stay his flight. That would attract unwarranted attention, however. He decided to trust Laura.

"What do you want?" Bruce challenged, still using his gruff voice. "You're a little over dressed for rooftop jumping, aren't you?" Laura would not be swayed.

"Yeah, well you're a little over dressed for shopping on Metropolis's gold coast." She countered. "I'm very busy." Batman said as Laura finally released him. "Lake, Laura Lake." She extended a hand, and he reluctantly took it.

"I'm heading to the gala. Did you want me to keep an eye on someone for you?" Laura offered courageously. Bruce was momentarily silent.

_Laura sounded like she genuinely wanted to_ _help, but why? Unless_… "Are you from around here?" He asked in a deep voice, finally letting go of her hand. "No, I'm from Nebraska." She replied. _That shoots down the local hero theory_. He mused.

Batman was still no closer to any answers. _Who was helping to control the mutant_ _population that he'd read about? Why was Laura so strong_?

He was running out of time. Bruce Wayne had to leave and join the benefit. "Are we done here?" Batman asked with attitude. "Fine." Laura snapped. "One more question. Why bats?" She asked him point blank.

Bruce was surprised at the teen's directness. "It's just this thing I have." Batman responded lamely. "Bats are one of the most misunderstood creatures on the planet." He explained quickly.

"I feared bats, therefore, I became what I feared most. I decided to share my misery with everyone else." Bruce added. "Are you writing an article for the _Planet_?" He fished.

"No." Laura replied shortly. "How does the bat thing help you with crime-fighting?" She persisted.

"I can do what others can't or won't." Bruce continued. "As a man I can be humiliated, defeated, or killed. As an ideal, I can never die. As a symbol, I can never be defeated." Batman was also a master of psychology, and he had completely entranced young Laura.

"That is _so_ cool!" Laura said happily. Bruce glared at her with confusion. "It is?" Laura nodded. "I'm going to follow in your footsteps, though minus the costume, I think."

Batman was unsure of what else to say. "I really have to go." He insisted. "Okay, good bye, and nice meeting you." Laura said pleasantly with a mock salute, she jumped off the building.

Batman was readying his grappling hook, when he saw Laura land smoothly, with just a slight bending of her knees, on the pavement eight stories below.

He gawked, as Laura quickly looked around, and made her way across the street, stopping at the Royal Arms entrance.

Batgirl, Robin, and Catwoman rushed over to the rooftop section that Bruce had staked out. "Hey Batman!" Robin exclaimed. "We lost comm contact with you. What gives?" Batgirl slid to a stop with Selena at her heel. "Did something happen?" She asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Batman deadpanned, he didn't want to mention his encounter with Laura in front of Selena. "What ever!" Catwoman protested. "Can we go, now?" Bruce switched off his ineffective rooftop alarms. "Yes, lets." He urged.

They left by more conventional means, climbing down the fire escape, until they reached the ground floor. Alfred awaited their arrival at the limo impatiently. Batman was first. "Master Bruce," The English nobleman began. "I just witnessed the most frightful thing…"

Batman put his finger to his lips, indicating silence. "I don't doubt it, Alfred. Let's drop the girls off at the hotel to freshen up. Robin and I will change in the limo to save time." He held the doors open for the disguised women. "Very good, sir." Bruce and Dick piled in afterward.

"Twenty minutes until show time." Dick announced as they hurried away. When the girls had gone inside, Bruce, Dick, and Alfred changed clothing in the limo. "What did you see up on that roof, Bruce?" Robin inquired.

"Don't tell Selena, or even Barb, but your friend Laura Lake came to visit me on the roof." Batman explained as Dick gasped. "Does she know about us?" Bruce shook his head. "No, I don't think so. She wanted to join me as the Batman's sidekick."

Alfred rolled his tired eyes. "It was she whom I saw vaulting from the rooftop. At first, I thought that the poor young lady had fallen." Bruce stared at him with concern. "Until she landed eight stories below me without a scratch on her." Alfred nodded. "She jumped?" Dick asked.

Batman acknowledged that Laura had no sort of aerial device. "That's not normal." Dick stated the obvious. "I should say not." Alfred agreed. "She wanted to join us?" Robin repeated. "Yes, and now she's a big fan of the Batman. I blew her off for now. I hate to admit it, but she outmaneuvered me. She had an iron clad hold on me, and further, she avoided my bat alarms."

"Stealth and strength." Dick began, recalling the research he'd done on the strange occurrences in and around Smallville. At first, Robin had been skeptical, but now..."Laura's got to be a Meta-human then?" Bruce nodded. "We don't know anything for sure, but it would appear so." The boys changed as Alfred rang the girls' rooms.

Barb and Selena were already entering the Silver Star lobby. "Time to collect your dates, gentlemen." Alfred joked. "As if this night could get any worse." Dick grumbled. "It'll be okay." Bruce patted Robin on the shoulder. Now, though, I want you to see if you can talk to our Miss Lake without giving yourself away." Bruce directed. "Between you and Barbara, we may get some insight about our teen mutant."

Bruce and Dick escorted Barb and Selena out of the hotel, amid flashing cameras and nosy reporters. No one offered any comments as Bruce smiled congenially at the small crowd. Selena milked the moment by blowing kisses at the reporters, again stealing Bruce's spotlight. He didn't mind at all. The same chaos ensued when they pulled up in front of the Royal Arms.

Waves of fans, journalists, and awestruck bystanders lined the red carpet leading to the hotel lobby. Again Bruce and Selena waved, while Dick and Barb faded into the background. Though they didn't cause the mass hysteria of _Brad_ and _Angelina_, a fair number of people watchers followed Bruce and Selena every step of the way.

Like troopers, Dick and Barbara headed in after Bruce and Selena, Dick dutifully guiding Barb through the fans by her elbow. Selena blew one last kiss at the audience. She truly loved her newfound celebrity status. _It beats scrounging a living for myself and the cats, and being Bruce's arm candy wasn't all that bad_, she mused.

Once they hit the elevator, Dick and Barb retreated to neutral corners. Selena happily kissed Bruce, grossing Barbara out. _There's no accounting for taste_, she thought bitterly. They emerged from the elevator to more formal pictures, and hand shaking. Dick held Barb's hand as they were announced to the rest of the room. It was all part of the act of course, _or was it?_

"C'mon Barb, I'll be your wing man." Dick offered. "What?" Batgirl folded her arms. "You know, your back up." Robin continued. "You find a guy you like, and I'll go over and talk to him with you. It's safe, easy, and fun." He encouraged. "Okay, I suppose that can't hurt." Barb conceded.

"You'll want me to do the same?" She guessed. Robin glanced at Bruce who had Selena hanging all over him. "Usually Bruce is my wing man. He's otherwise occupied. Okay, let's do it." Bruce and Selena continued to make their rounds, chatting and smiling.

Barb and Dick loitered around the snack table, and he checked on the bat mike, which seemed to be secure and unnoticed for the moment. Realizing that they didn't know anyone, the teen super heroes quickly grew bored, munching heavily. Barb suddenly recognized Oliver Queen and Dinah.

"Let's move, Dick!" She hurried through the crowd with Robin at her heel, and ran smack into Clark, falling backwards into Dick, and nearly knocking them both down. Superman grinned at them with bemusement. "Uh...excuse me." Barb said after shaking off the cobwebs of the hit. She momentarily regained her composure. She looked into Clark's eyes and was stunned. "Wow!"

Dick regained his footing, and slid in behind Barb. "Pardon us, Mr...?" Clark extended a hand. "Kent, Clark Kent." Barb forgot her manners, and held Kal's forearm. _This dude is solid_, she thought. "Um...Dick Grayson, and this is Barbara Gordon." They all shook hands.

"No problem." Clark said, and quickly excused himself, spying Lois near the punch bowl. Lois and Clark had found a good vantage point near the open bar. Lois was clutching a fresh new martini.

This party included the who's who of Metropolis and beyond. "That's Bruce Wayne of WayneCo and Selena Kyle." Lois informed Clark, who wasn't particularly interested. "I've seen Wayne on TV and in magazines." Superman stated. "Who's Selena Kyle?"

Lois took a sip of her drink. "Selena is an environmental activist, and currently Wayne's main squeeze." She added cynically. "You know, she doesn't have a real job, like you." Lois teased. "Nice." Clark took the barb in stride. "She sure is full of herself." He commented.

"Selena keeps posing with everyone and their brother." Kal continued. "Wayne seems laid back, like this really isn't his thing." He remarked. "Opposites attract." Lois's eyes sparkled. "Like us." Clark smiled, but knew better than to give her a response. "That's the lifestyle of the rich and shameless."

Lois snapped. "Party after party, benefit after benefit, and ribbon cutting photo ops." She said sourly. "At least Wayne is spreading the wealth around. There's Oliver." She stated without emotion. "Steady, Lois." Clark teased. "Oh, I'm_ so _over him." She said calmly. "He and Dinah were probably meant for each other." Kal was very glad to hear Lois say that.

Laura Lake had finally worked her way through the crowd to them. "Hey Clark! Miss Lane!" She greeted them politely. "Laura?" Superman was a little surprised to see his teen friend at the gala. He gulped, remembering that in another time line, he and Laura were very close. (See: _Gold Wing_)

Clark had thought about replacing Lana with her for a while, but ultimately they couldn't see eye to eye. "Laura?" Lois echoed. "Oh, I'm sorry. You two haven't met." Clark apologized. _At least in this_ _time shard_, he corrected silently. The girls shook hands, and Lois swore she felt a burst of energy.

Laura was elegantly dressed in her expensive black outfit, which was strapless, and the teen had put her long raven black hair up in a bun atop her head. She left the two signature sets of golden yellow hair strands hang loosely in a curl before her ears. It gave her the appearance of being much older.

"Call me Lois, everyone else does." She quipped, beginning to catch a buzz from the martinis. "If you don't mind my saying so, aren't you a little young for a stuffy benefit like this?" Clark rolled his eyes. _Here we go_, he thought warily. "It was a last minute thing." Laura replied gracefully.

Finally Chloe and Jimmy showed up. Clark was amazed that after all she'd been through, Chloe had still managed to make it to the benefit. He fully expected her to stay in and rest. "Oh thank God!" Lois exclaimed, as she rushed over to meet her younger cousin.

Jimmy was all smiles, and filled with relief that Chloe was free, and in reasonably good health. "C'mon Laura, it's time for you to meet the object of all our troubles." He joked, guiding the teenager through the crowd. Chloe seemed okay, but tired, Superman guessed. Lois was still hugging her.

The two chatted as rapidly as they could, but Laura's eyes focused elsewhere. _The Batman had_ _been after somebody_, she thought, _but I have no idea who_. "Hey! Good to see you!" Chloe patted Laura on the back. "Good job!" Lois continued to be puzzled. _Chloe and Clark knew this Laura_...she noted.

Bruce, Dick, Barb, and Selena had circulated through all the big shots, and had made their way up near the stage and podium. Jimmy shook Laura's hand. "Thanks for helping to save my girl." He said, low enough for Clark and Laura to hear. "No problem!" Laura replied. "All in a hero's day's work."

Jimmy looked at her oddly. Kara Kent came in next with very little fanfare. She quickly found Lois and Clark. Marcus Worthington and Zara Rolfe entered amid a few camera flashes and on the spot interviews. Bruce's pilot, Hal Jordan followed them in, and worked his way toward his boss.

Julian Luthor, and his girl, Tessa Mercer, came in next with a small entourage. They nearly upstaged Bruce, who was already at the podium. Perry White, and a new intern, Catherine Grant watched from backstage, trying to keep a low profile.

No one knew the level of super hero talent that appeared at the charity benefit that night. They'd all come together at a much later date. Only Superman knew that he'd begun to force Darkseid's hand, by getting the Justice League together earlier in time. He'd now altered Earth's future exponentially.

This time shard was far from perfect, as the group would soon find out.

Previous Chapter


	5. Chapter 5: The Ball

"My night just got a whole lot better." Barb fawned over Clark, her ever vigilant eyes following the young super hero as he skirted around the edge of the room. She studied him briefly, as Bruce had been trying to teach her. His body language showed that he was uncomfortable with the situation.

"What's up, Barb?" Dick asked, noting that his teen partner's attention had once again focused on the tall, muscular, dark haired Clark Kent. "Nothing." Barb reddened slightly. "You're checking out that dude Kent." Dick accused. "No!" She snapped. "Just go over and talk to him." He urged.

"I don't want him to think that I'm some money hungry bimbo looking for a good time." She defended. "Trust me, Barb, you don't look like a bimbo." He swallowed a bit of pride. "Oh? Thanks, I guess." She hesitated. "Come on, I'll walk over there with you. Remember? Wing man!"

Dick gently guided her over to Clark, who still seemed distracted. "Hello?" Dick glanced up at Clark, who was about a half a foot taller than he. "Dick Grayson, remember? And this is..."

"Barbara Gordon. Yes I recall running into you earlier." He joked as Barb once again glanced up into his wide blue eyes. "You two seem bored." Superman guessed. "Yeah, it's a bit stuffy for me." Barb said.

"Uh, so, Mr. Kent..." Dick began. "Are you a contributor to the _Daily Planet _charity?" He tried to sound less like a detective. "No, I work for the Planet with Lois Lane, their lead reporter." Clark couldn't exactly qualify his relationship with Lois. _Were they boyfriend and girlfriend_? He mused. They'd never really discussed it much. "How about you two?" Kal deflected the conversation.

"How long have you been together?" Clark asked pleasantly. Dick coughed and Barb flushed. "Um...we're just friends." Barb stuttered. "We work together." _Awkward_! Barb mentally grumbled. "Okay." Clark said, clearly uneasy with the subject. _I guess I'm not really good with meeting people._

"We work with Bruce Wayne." Dick added evasively. "Oh? What do you do?" Superman pressed. "Hmmm! We sort of assist him." Barb choked out as she gazed at Clark's bright smile. "Okay." Clark remarked. _Dork!_ Barb berated herself. _He must think that I'm an air head_.

"Mr. Wayne has been very generous to Daily Planet Charities." Kal said smoothly. Earlier, he and Lois had thoroughly investigated every contributor on the invitee list. Wayne was the single highest dollar contributor and the only one outside of Oliver without political connections.

Speaking of Lois, Clark thought, as he quickly searched the room for her. He spied her at Bruce Wayne's side, obviously angling for an article. "Would you excuse me? It's been a pleasure meeting you." Clark made a quick, graceful exit. Barb watched Clark go. "Good job, Barb!" She muttered.

"Hey, don't sweat it, Barb." Dick consoled her. "He's probably with someone here." She nodded absently. "He sure was cute." She sighed. "Plenty of other fish in the sea." Dick said lamely, making Barb laugh. "Thanks." She patted his arm tenderly. "My turn." He said, escorting Barb to the punch bowl. "There's our target for the evening." Dick nodded towards Laura Lake.

"Laura?" Barb guessed. "Yup. Remember Bruce wanted us to keep an eye on her. He seemed to think that she was unique." Barb nodded. "As in meta human?" Dick led her across the dance hall. "Exactly." Barb glanced again at Clark who had found Lois. "Go for it, Romeo." She quipped, as she and Dick bumped fists. "I'm going to check on Queen and his freaky girlfriend." Barb left quickly.

Jimmy and Chloe had made their way around the room. As usual, the young photojournalist had his two favorite cameras around his neck. In seconds, Clark had zipped up to them. Lois was about to say something. "Clark?" She turned and he was gone. _I swear that guy needs a leash_. She thought sourly.

"Chloe, how are you doing? Hey Jimmy." Chloe glanced up at Clark. He saw something different in her eyes. "Hey CK!" Jimmy said pleasantly. "Uh, Jimmy, you'd better go and get some pictures of the event for the paper." Chloe urged. "Got it." Jimmy's expression soured. "Translation, Clark and I need to talk." He groused. "If this isn't a good time..." Clark back peddled.

"Naw! Go ahead. I know you and Chlo' have to catch up." Jimmy said gallantly, before kissing her and wandering over towards Perry. "What's up?" Clark asked worriedly. "I'm glad to be free." She began hesitantly. "I'm sorry that we took so long..." Superman added. "Oliver wanted to try and go through the proper channels. Though in the end, that didn't work."

"Yeah, its okay." Chloe said distractedly. "It gave me some time to think. I have some new ideas brewing in my Mocha Latte soaked mind." Clark nodded, glad to see his friend in good shape, _or was she_? "I've been mulling over everything, too." He added. "Like telling Lois the truth."

"Shocking, but expected." Chloe countered. "First things first." She led him over to a light blue electric light wall sconce. "What are you...?" Before Clark could finish, she touched the sconce with her index finger and it immediately went out. Clark's eyes widened. Chloe glanced around.

She touched the sconce with her other hand, pretending to lean on the wall, and the lamp relit. "Uh oh!" Clark exclaimed. "Yeah, big time!" She muttered as she and Clark slowly walked towards the center of the room. "What happened exactly?" He prodded. "I can't say much, here." She added.

"Let's just say it has something to do with BRAINIAC and the U.S. Government's electrolysis treatment. I felt like an electrified _Chia Pet_. My hair grew out instantly." For emphasis, she spun around, and her long blonde hair curled neatly halfway down her back. Clark gulped. "Chloe, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too." She checked on Jimmy's position. He was lining up Julian Luthor and Tess for a glam shot. "Don't worry about it, Clark. If you can get used to new abilities, so can I. It'll be hell on my shampoo, conditioner, and hairstyle budget, though." She joked bravely.

"You haven't told Jimmy, yet?" Clark inquired. "Not everything, no. I confessed to being of the meteor freak persuasion, but that's about all that I'd own up to." Chloe admitted. "You'll tell him when you think he's ready." Clark said confidently. "True. Unless I create a secret identity." She mused.

"Actually, I've been thinking a lot about that myself." Clark said, silencing as another guest walked close by. "We have a lot to discuss." Chloe remarked as Jimmy returned with a pair of drinks. "Did you want something to wet your whistle, CK?" He offered. "No thanks, Jimmy."

"Lois will probably be bringing me something in a bit." He concluded. Chloe's eyes sparkled. "How are you and my over achieving cousin doing?" She asked playfully. In this time line, she seemed to be more in favor of a Lois and Clark pairing, Superman observed.

"Okay I guess." Clark replied. "We haven't really defined our relationship, yet." Honesty was a rarity in all of their conversations lately. To Clark it felt good, like he and Lois were meant to be.

"See, I had a feeling about you two." Jimmy boasted. "Like you were destined to be together." Chloe and Clark rolled their eyes at the young photographer. "Whatever!" Chloe smirked. "I can't believe that she talked you into taking the job at the _Daily Planet_."

"Does that bother you, Chloe?" Clark asked warily, putting his young sidekick on the spot. "No, Clark, it really doesn't anymore. I guess Oliver opened my eyes. We have a lot of work to do. I was burning the proverbial candle at both ends." Jimmy suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"We?" He echoed. "Yes Jimmy, we. You and I, the J Chlo team and we're backed by Queen Industries." She answered cheerfully. "I...uh...don't want to give up my photojournalism." Jimmy argued. Now it was Clark's turn to feel awkward. "I'm not asking you to give that up." Chloe clarified.

Lois bounded up to them and kissed Clark passionately. "Lois, your timing is impeccable." Chloe commented cynically. "I guess we all have to get seated for the speeches." Jimmy ended the quick spat. He held a program of all the keynote speakers for the evening. "There's a real snore fest!" Chloe joked, sounding more like her old self. Lois held Clark close, with a brilliant smile on her thin face.

Lois took Chloe's hands. "I'm so glad you're back, little cousin." Jimmy watched Lois carefully. He'd never seen her this happy. She had to be in love with Clark. Chloe and Lois hugged. "No thanks to the U.S. Government. Your tax dollars at work." Chloe said, thoroughly jaded by the experience. "Did you want to talk about it?" Lois asked seriously. "No, not now. Tonight is about the less fortunate."

Chloe would gather everyone together later. She knew that some changes were to be made. "Good enough." Lois said, knowing when to back off. Meanwhile, Barbara had been googling 'Clark Kent' on her raspberry PDA, during one of the more monotonous speeches by some city councilman or another. She was surprised to see dozens if not a hundred local news stories about Clark Kent. Clearly there was more to this guy than she had imagined.

By now, Barb was certain that Bruce and Alfred had done their preliminary research on all of the guests at the charity benefit. She made it a point to inform Dick when she had a chance. Bruce was hunting for someone, and it may very well be this Clark Kent, she thought. There was about a ten minute break in between Bruce's speech and Julian Luthor's. Bruce worked his way around the room, generally heading towards the bar just off to the left of the stage.

It so happened that Clark was refilling he and Lois's drinks at the time. Bruce saw his opportunity. He approached Clark with a bright smile. "Mr. Kent?" Bruce offered a hand. "Mr. Wayne." Superman and Batman clasped hands for the very first time. "Thanks again for your generous donation to the Daily Planet charities foundation." Kal said appreciatively. "It's nothing, really." Bruce said with humility. "I only wish that I could do more, and will in the near future."

"So, are you and Miss Lane together?" Bruce fished. Clark was surprised at his directness. "Yes, we're seeing each other." Clark replied, hazarding a guess at their current time line's relationship. "Also, Mr. Kent..." Batman began. "Please call me Clark." Bruce nodded. "If you'll call me Bruce. Clark, I wonder, I know it's not the time or place for this discussion, but are there really instances of so-called meteor freaks in the area?"

Clark hesitated, as Bruce had caught him off guard. "I see you've done your homework." He replied, adding: "Yes, the two major meteor showers within the last twenty years or so, have had adverse, and often dangerous effects on some local residents." That was about as diplomatic a response as Clark could manage. "Have there been any credible studies of this phenomena?" Bruce sounded more like a detective than a billionaire party boy to Clark.

"Credible is too strong a word." Superman hedged. "Put it this way, Bruce, the phenomena is real, dangerous, and could be made to serve any nefarious purpose imaginable." Batman nodded. "Thanks, Clark. I'll be looking forward to reading yours and Miss Lane's articles in the Daily Planet." Any further comment was disrupted by polite applause, as Julian Luthor took the podium. Bruce returned to his seat next to Barb and Dick.

The rest of the evening went as expected. Finally, after all the speeches, the hosts opened up the dance floor, and a pop band played some music. The couples began to take the floor. Bruce and Selena led, followed by Julian and Tess, Oliver and Dinah, Chloe and Jimmy, Hal and some girl he'd just met, and most surprisingly, Barb and Dick.. Laura hung out near Clark and Lois. They whirled to one of the latest dance tunes.

Lois leaned heavily against Clark. He put his arm around her as Laura looked on with boredom and disinterest. Cat Grant forced Perry White to slow dance with her, completely embarrassing him. Lois decided to join her boss on the dance floor. "Come on, Smallville, let's go."

"You know I can't dance, Lois." He protested. "Aw sure you can!" She insisted, shoving his arms around her thin waist. Clark was able to pick up the beat after a while. Lois kissed his neck, grossing out Kara, who said some goodnights, and literally flew away.

The event ended shortly thereafter, as the couples began to file toward the coat room, Julian and Tess were suspiciously absent. No one recalled them leaving, and no one cared. Laura and Dick had finally managed a few slow dances together, just before the last call.

"Thanks, Richard." Laura kissed Dick lightly on the cheek. "I had a wonderful time." Before he could ask for her phone number, she'd darted off. Barb patted him on the back. "Nice try, Romeo. Maybe next time." She quipped. As the couples began to leave the hotel, around the corner, all hell was about to break loose.


	6. Chapter 6: Empire

For TS 2

_Empire_:

After the charity dance finally ended, Oliver and Dinah slipped past the crowd milling around the front door of the Royal Arms Hotel. They escaped through a recently closed flower shop on the first floor across from the main entrance.

Chloe and Jimmy, Lois and Clark, and Bruce, Selena, Barb and Dick all left, passing through different exits, as they attempted with varying success to avoid the crowds. Lois and Clark headed around the corner into a dark, dreary alley.

They'd parked Lois's car at a lot nearby. She walked arm in arm with Clark, smiling brightly. "Hey Smallville, I had a really good time tonight. Lois leaned up to kiss him. "I'm glad to hear it Miss Lane." A gruff deep voice said. A large man stepped out of the shadows.

Lois's head spun left as she spied the intruder. He was wearing a black hoodie, pulled down over his forehead. He pointed a silver high caliber pistol at Lois's head, clicking it, and pressing the trigger. The mugger purposely left that bullet chamber open to make a point.

Four other goons, dressed similarly surrounded them. Each had a different weapon. Some were automatic pistols, and one was a sawed off shotgun. Even with Clark's hyper speed, he might not have been able to deflect all the shots, and Lois could be injured or killed.

For now, Superman played along. He'd already decided to use his powers in front of Lois if need be. The odd, awkward explanation would have to wait until later. "We don't want any trouble." Clark said as he raised his hands and stepped in front of Lois. Even, so, two gunmen had clean shots at her. _There will be another time_, Kal thought warily.

"That's too bad." Another hit man said as he trained a semi-automatic revolver on Clark's head. "Please, make a move." The nearest thug challenged. Lois and Clark were still. "What do you want?" Lois yelled bravely. "First, I want you to lower your voice." The leader said.

He shoved the barrel of the silver gun against Lois's cheek. She gulped. "Okay, I'm a mouse." The goon snickered. "That's better Miss Lane." He lowered his weapon, pointing it at the center of Lois's chest. "You and your boyfriend are taking a ride, likely your last."

"Get moving!" The assailant with the sawed off shotgun shoved Clark forward. He let the thug grab his arm and guide him towards two waiting black SUVs. The second creep twisted Lois's arms behind her back. She yelped. Clark could feel his anger building.

"Get in and shut up!" The lead thug ordered. "I'd waste you both right here, but the boss wants it to be clean. No evidence, got it?" They dumped Lois and Clark into separate vehicles. "You're making a big mistake." Lois argued. "People know that we're here."

The goon next to her grinned evilly. "It is you who made the mistake by challenging Mowhala's Empire." Lois stared blankly at the henchman. "Who?" She asked. "She doesn't remember!" The driver laughed. "You just ran a story last month on the Mowhala Drug Empire. To say the least, Sunji Mowhala was most displeased." Lois noted that the creeps had slight middle-eastern accents.

Chloe and Jimmy had their own problems. Another group of goons had abducted them in much the same manner. Bruce and the others had missed the whole scene. Laura and Kara were long gone. Only Hal Jordan had remained behind the chaos, among the photographers and reporters.

Hal and his new love interest, Carolyn, just happened to catch a glimpse of Lois and Clark being herded into the SUVs. He immediately called the Metropolis Police Department, yet Hal noted that the thugs likely outgunned the MPD. "Carolyn, wait here." Hal stepped back into the lobby.

He called Bruce's cell phone, assuming that Wayne was the type of guy that got things done. Besides, if the captors demanded ransom, Wayne could pay it without breaking a financial sweat. "Hey boss, we have a situation here." Hal explained to Bruce as Barb and Dick looked on in the limo.

"I'm betting that some of the party guests have deep pockets, hence the kidnaping." Hal added. "Thanks. We'll handle it." Bruce said and clicked off the phone. Hal glanced at the empty parking lot behind the hotel. _I hope you know what you're doing, Wayne_. Hal mused silently as he rejoined Carolyn.

"Alfred, get Lucius on the phone." Bruce ordered. "I guess we'll be staying in Metropolis for a while." He briefed Barb and Dick on the plan. Hal's rental sports car appeared as the valet brought it around front. He and Carolyn made plans of their own.

Chloe and Jimmy sat handcuffed together in the back of an unmarked gray car. Two abductors held them at bay with what appeared to Chloe as standard U S Government issue 9 mm revolvers. "We demand our rights!" Jimmy piped up. "You gave up your rights when you spied on American citizens."

The G Man partially hid his face from them. "I don't know how you got out of Red Mountain, but you're going right back to Nevada, where you'll stand trial for treason." Chloe felt an energy surge building up in her hands. _How could she use her power while she was cuffed to Jimmy_?, she wondered.

_Where would she go if she could escape the Feds again_? Chloe reached a decision. "I want to cut a plea bargain." She began. "Oh? What could you possibly offer the National Department of Domestic Security that would interest us?" The G Man snickered. "I've got dirt on Julian Luthor." Chloe said.

"Really?" The Fed was skeptical and so was Jimmy. "Can we go somewhere and talk?" She asked in an even tone. "What makes you think that we care about Luthor?" The driver asked. "I can prove that Luthor has been running illicit experiments, genetic research, and shall we say, non standard, non conventional weapons." Chloe exaggerated. "Okay, we'll head for HQ." The driver decided.

Clark felt helpless, as he rode in the black SUV. The vehicles' wheels squealed, heading off the main highway and onto an old two lane farming road. "You'll never get away with it." Superman warned. "People will be looking for us." The nearest thug shrugged. "It is of no consequence."

"You will be dead shortly." The driver said. "Like footprints in the sand, you will be erased." Clark sighed. _I have to time this just right_, he considered. Meanwhile Lois was struggling against the grip of the Asian creep holding a semi-automatic revolver against her rib cage. "Why all the drama?" Lois asked. "Why not just shoot us and dump us in a cornfield somewhere?"

"Because, Miss Lane, I want you to suffer." The Middle-Eastern said. "I will torture your boyfriend before killing him before you. If that is how Sunji Mowhala wishes it."

The SUVs turned onto a dirt and gravel access road to Dead Man's Gorge, the limestone quarry that had always been nearby. At it's base, the river where they'd first found Kara, ran from Reeve's Dam and into the wetlands. Clark was biding his time, figuring out the best plan of attack.

It wouldn't take him long to disarm and immobilize his opponents, though the risk to Lois was severely high. The SUVs slowed to a stop. Superman noted that four other vehicles faced them with their headlights on. He used his x-ray vision to assess the number of criminals. He counted nineteen.

_This complicates things quite a bit_, Kal surmised. Every thug had a weapon, ranging from sniper rifles and uzis to revolvers. _A prisoner exchange_? He analyzed. _There's a lot of hardware for a simple abduction and extortion_. He swallowed hard. _This was going to be tough_.

Clark readied himself. He had to reach Lois's SUV first, disable her captors, and do it without anyone getting off a shot. _I learned something tonight_, Kal mused, _Never hesitate, never go to the next crime scene. If I'd have used my powers on the original goons, it would have been much easier_.

_Now there's no other choice_, Superman thought, _I have to use all of my abilities at the same time_. He let the goons manhandle him out of the van, and toss him to the ground. The creeps had handcuffed him, which would be of little consequence. The driver kicked Clark in the ribs.

He playacted a bit, groaning and rolling over. He did this to specifically face Lois's vehicle. As soon as she was out in the open, he'd attack. The other henchmen took up positions surrounding the SUVs. Clark examined them. The goons looked like a band of mercenaries to him.

Was Julian Luthor behind this, or someone else? He wondered, getting up on one knee. The driver was about to clock Clark in the head with the butt of his rifle. The three other abductors dragged Lois out of the SUV, and threw her unceremoniously onto the ground.

Lois's face scraped against the gravely access road. "Ow! That's going to leave a mark." She muttered. Clark was furious. He was measuring the distance between him and the goons closest to Lois. _At least they had enough sense to handcuff her and attach makeshift leg shackles to her ankles_.

_That should keep her out of trouble and prevent her from doing anything foolish while he rescued her._ Kal considered. "Where is payment?" The lead goon asked no one in particular. "Sunji Mowhala will not wait." Something whistled above their heads and impacted the black limo furthest from the crowd. It went up in a fiery mess, sending flaming shrapnel in all directions.

Lois quickly took advantage of the distraction, rolling behind the SUV and curling up into a ball. She simultaneously slipped her handcuffed arms below her legs, which enabled her to extend her arms out in front of her. She slid silently around the front of the vehicle, coming up behind a confused thug.

A sleek black sports car roared down the only exit from the access road, effectively bottling everyone in, and trapping the offenders between it and the edge of the quarry. The road had been built with drainage ditches, and dense foliage along one shoulder and muddy rocky wetlands along the other.

The sports car skidded to a stop, launching four small projectiles from its front hood scoop. The objects whirled into the fray. Two were concussion grenades and two were small flash rockets. This had the effect of blinding most of the people in the area, and creating massive confusion.

Lois stood up and grabbed a silver revolver from one guy's holster, immediately whacking him across the back of the head with the butt of the gun. He slumped to the ground. Clark elbowed the two creeps nearest to him, sending them flying in opposite directions. He dashed towards Lois.

Two black motorcycles sped in next, flanking the three limos that remained, illuminated by the still burning vehicle. They each launched the same types of flash and concussion grenades. The motorbikes crisscrossed through the center of the standoff.

The gunmen began randomly firing their weapons, each suspecting the other of a double cross. Lois aimed the silver gun ahead of her, firing off a round. "Lois! No!" Clark yelled as he swept in to cover her. They hit the ground together. Lois had been winged across the temple by a piece of glass.

Blood trickled down her cheek, dripping onto Clark's shoulder. Lois's round found it's mark. By pure luck she'd hit the lead creep right between the eyes, killing him instantly. She never knew what she'd done. Clark held her head up as Lois's eyes fluttered. She was about to slip into unconsciousness.

The gunfire continued. Superman carried Lois at hyper speed back towards the black sports car. He slowed to a stop, pounding on the passenger side car door with his knee. The gull wing door opened upward, revealing a man in a dark ...bat suit? Clark gawked at the sight.

"Put her in, Kent!" The bat guy ordered in far too deep a voice. Clark lay Lois on the backseat, as she drifted off into oblivion. Superman used his x-ray vision to identify the man behind the mask. _Bruce_ _Wayne_! Clark gaped. "This isn't over!" The bat dude said. He fired off another round of flash grenades. "Get in!" Batman directed as Kal shook his head. "Get her out of here. I'll deal with this!"

"No can do!" Batman grumbled. "I've got people in there. You'll just get yourself killed." Clark sighed, as he forcibly closed the door the machine gears whined. Without a word, Clark zipped back into the fray. Batman stared through the eye slits in his mask as Clark appeared to disappear before his eyes.

"Alfred! Selena! Code red!" Bruce yelled into his car's bat communicator. About a mile away, the elder gentleman buckled into the limo's safety harness. "My word!" Alfred gasped. "Would you like me to drive, Al?" Selena literally purred as she slipped on her Catwoman suit in the back seat.

"No, that will be quite all right Miss Kyle." Alfred punched the limo's accelerator and sped down the two lane highway. Selena pressed a button on a panel in the back seat. "Whoa!" The rear seat cushion assembly rotated upward, forcing her into a crouch position. "Meow!"

The rear seat shoved Catwoman forward. She hit her forehead on the base of the dashboard. "Ow!" An infrared view screen slid down from the dash where a CD player usually sat. A joystick for each hand popped up under her wrists. "Nice! Al this is the cat's meow!" Alfred rolled his eyes.

"Miss Kyle, please don't touch anything else." The manservant warned as he steered the limo down the access road, pulling up behind Bruce's sports car. He quickly launched another round of special effects - the last round that the car held. The gull wing door snapped open, though it was slightly bent.

"Alfred, Miss Lane is injured. See that she gets immediate medical care. The first aid kit is located below the center column between the seats...uh...beneath Selena." Bruce directed. Alfred helped Batman carry Lois into the limo, placing her behind Catwoman. "Is there anything I can do?" She offered, obviously sucking up to Bruce. "No thanks Selena, just get Miss Lane to safety."

"How bad is it, sir?" Alfred watched as another black SUV inexplicably flipped over. "It's bad Alfred." Batman said with disdain. "Yet, I believe that I've found what I'm looking for." He curled his upper lip. "Actually, the appropriate word is whom I'm looking for." Bruce corrected.

Near the edge of the quarry, Clark was randomly throwing people and equipment around, not attempting to hide his abilities at all. Bullets whizzed past and bounced off of him. One of the motorcycles sped by, and using some type of rocket adapter, launched itself high above an SUV.

The cyclist quickly disappeared onto a nearby mountain bike trail. A second motorcycle roared past in the opposite direction, using the same launching maneuver. This rider was not as lucky. A round of ammo pelted the bike's gas tank, though it appeared to be reinforced steel, the tank began to smoke.

The biker lost control and landed too close to the end of the trail above the quarry. "No!" Clark yelled and used his hyper speed to catch up to the motorcycle, as the rear wheel broke off and bounded across the hood of a still smoldering black limo.

Bruce had revealed the titanium alloy ram bars at the sports car's front. The ram bars had flipped up from beneath the radiator area. He squealed the super slick rear tires, fish tailing down the gravel road into the ongoing melee. Batman mercilessly rammed every car or truck in his path.

Thugs that were still uninjured dove into the muck of the drainage ditch to save their hides. The vehicles scattered like a child's playthings. Cars flipped atop other cars, Suvs rolled over and bounded into the foliage. Miraculously, no one else was killed.

Batman spied Clark, what appeared to be Barbara, and her motorcycle, all flying over the edge of the quarry, supposedly to their deaths, hundreds of feet below. He threw the car into a sideways skid, and spun it around to face the quarry. He launched two high tech grappling hooks at them.

Without enough time to aim the firing line properly, both hooks fell woefully short. Everyone was gone! Batman sat open-mouthed in disbelief. "No!" He pounded his fists on the dashboard. Two goons opened fire on Bruce's car, in a lame attempt to escape. A single missile exploded nearby.

The creeps got the message. They dropped their weapons and stood before the sports car with arms raised. "Miss Kyle! Must you touch everything?" Alfred said with some irritation after Selena had fired the small munitions rocket at the mercenaries. "What can I say? Cats are curious." She quipped.

Clark concentrated hard as they fell deeper into the darkness below. He willed himself over to Barbara, grabbing the teen by her slim waist. The bike continued toward the floor of the canyon, exploding on impact. "I've got you!" Superman said. "You've got me? Who's got you?" Barb gasped.

Clark smirked, recalling the last time he'd heard that line, literally in another lifetime. He righted himself, slowing their descent, and landed about halfway down the quarry wall, on a rocky slope. "Well Clark, I guess we need to talk..." Barb began as her long red hair wavered in the wind.

"First things first." Superman readied himself. "Barbara, hang on. This is going to be tricky." Batgirl gaped openly at Clark's face, taking a moment to rub the dirt off of his cheek tenderly. Kal pushed down on the craggy rock outcropping and leapt high into the air. The action sent small boulders hurtling down to the quarry base. Superman covered about half the distance back to the top.

Clark clawed into the limestone wall, securing a handhold for a moment. Batgirl smiled, and kissed his cheek. "Hey!" Superman protested mildly. She extended one arm and shot a grappling hook upward and over the quarry's edge. It secured itself around a large boulder.

The hook began to reel them up, but Clark was too heavy. Without warning, he let Barbara go, waiting momentarily to be sure that she'd made it all the way back up. The thugs could've still been after them, though he hadn't heard any more gunfire. Barb gazed down into the darkness warily. "Clark?"

He half flew and ran at high speed along the side of the wall, emerging behind her. "Yes?" He purposely startled the teen crime-fighter. "Wow! You are one super man!" Barb praised. Clark wrinkled his nose. "So I''ve heard." He quipped.


	7. Chapter 7: Rogue Element

**Beyond Smallville**: Time Shards 2

_Rogue Element_

Chloe and Jimmy were at the local Fed HQ, now freed and awaiting a G-Man interrogator. They sat back to back at the room's center. While the G-men squabbled among themselves about who would question the alleged fugitives, Chloe worked on her plan. "Jimmy, do you trust me?"

"With my life." The pleasant photojournalist said confidently. "This is it. We go together, there's no backing out now." Chloe foreshadowed. "All or nothing, sweetie." Jimmy agreed. Chloe raised both arms and concentrated on the HQ electrical system.

In seconds, two streams of electrical sparks arced out from her fingertips. One blasted the area's electronic security lock system, and the other blew through the nearest wall, which luckily for them hadn't been reinforced. Chloe's power surge had taken it's toll, she was exhausted.

Jimmy took his cue, and gathered Chloe into his arms, struggling slightly. I better start working out more, he mentally grumbled, as he carried her through the wall and out into the crowded HQ corridors. They were still outnumbered. It was sheer luck that most of the government officials were administrative.

Very few had weapons, and fewer still had enough courage to get involved. Most government functionaries were more worried about spilling their coffee, than confronting escaping criminals. A good portion of them scattered, jogging away from Jimmy, as he painfully carried Chloe towards the exit.

The nearest doorway was blocked by the true G-Men, brandishing stun guns, and small caliber revolvers. They wouldn't make it. The goons started running towards them from behind as well. They were trapped. Chloe's gambit had failed. Just that quickly, a gigantic explosion was heard...

**Scene**: The FBI Headquarters in East Metropolis:

Government officials had trapped Chloe and Jimmy. The explosion echoed throughout the fully staffed government building. It was a large concussion / flash grenade that had blown through a wall near the main corridor. "Clark! Clark! Help!" Chloe yelled at the top of her lungs, startling Jimmy.

"What makes you think that CK is anywhere near this place, Chlo'?" He questioned. Chloe had half expected Clark, Kara, or Laura to come barreling in. _Not this time_, she thought sourly. _Maybe our luck had finally run out_. Dozens of attackers wearing all black surrounded the entire wing.

About one hundred and forty two workers staffed the facility. Roughly fifty had managed to escape through the emergency exits before the terrorist teams had closed them down. The police and the other government agencies would be at the headquarters soon. The thugs didn't have much time.

The two terrorists nearest to Chloe and Jimmy wore hockey goalie masks. The assault force was well organized and disciplined. Chloe had helped them along by zapping the cameras and electronic alarms. Most of the other ski mask wearing commandos brandished Uzi's and AK-47s.

One terrorist stood out among the faceless minions. He wore a fancy red Chinese dragon mask, which covered his entire face and throat. Chloe was confused. There was nothing particularly valuable in the FBI building. It didn't appear to her to be a robbery. _A hostage situation_? She shuddered.

The leader fired his automatic pistol at the ceiling. "Attention, you will drop all your weapons and cell phones now, please." He ordered. Chloe tried to place his accent. It sounded Eastern European like he was from Russia or Slovenia. "There will be no heroics today." He added calmly.

He patiently waited for all the guns and phones to clatter onto the well-waxed floors of the corridor. Two of the guys in ski masks quickly collected all the items and placed them in some standard shopping bags. "How many of you will risk your lives for a twenty five to forty thousand dollar a year job? Not many, I expect." He continued cockily.

"We are here to acquire some important items." He slowly walked towards Chloe and Jimmy. "If you cooperate, you may live, if not, you will die. It is that simple." He barked some orders in Russian. Two thugs scattered into the nearest cubicles, and immediately slapped a flash drive in the computer hard drive units. It was an informational robbery, Chloe decided.

In moments the goons returned, flash drives in hand. "We will be gone like the wind on a summer's day." The leader said as he fired his pistol into the ceiling again. "All of you! Get into that conference room!" He yelled as his minions shoved everyone backward with their weapons.

They herded the employees into the large meeting room. Suddenly two goons grabbed Chloe, and simultaneously smacked Jimmy over the back of the head with the butt of an automatic rifle. "You will come with us!" The leader snarled. "Jimmy!" Chloe yelled tearfully.

Two thugs kicked her boyfriend into the conference room, and locked the door. "What do you want with me?" Chloe screamed. "You have some value to someone close to me. Now go!" He shoved Chloe forward, and the hockey mask wearing assailants half carried her out the door into a waiting black van. They peeled out just as the local police sirens were heard.

Three more vans and large SUVs scattered in every direction, cruising down any available street. Some even slowed down to let the police and SWAT team's vehicles pass. One guy duct taped Chloe's mouth and tied her hands and bound her feet with common rope.

"So, like that, the prophecy is fulfilled." The leader said, thoroughly pleased with himself, as his companions chuckled. "The golden haired goddess will control the elements and bring about the rebirth. As it was in the beginning, so will it be again." A few of the thugs chorused.

Chloe was truly terrified. _Me? A goddess? Boy, are these guys off base_, she thought worriedly. _Maybe they meant Kara_? She wondered silently, shifting her weight slightly to relieve the pressure on her arms and legs. The van sped off to who knows where. _I'll have to save myself_.

Back near Smallville, Bruce, Dick, Clark, and Barbara were mopping up the last of their thugs. Alfred was heading towards a prearranged destination, with an unconscious Lois in the back seat with Selena. The Catwoman purred happily. "That was fun, Alf. I wish I could've been more in on the action." The elder gentleman grumbled. "You've done quite enough already, Miss Kyle."

"What about reporter girl?" Selena asked vacantly, her mind on something else. "Yes, well, if fortune favors us, she'll be none the worse for wear, and won't recall our impromptu exit." Alfred guided the black limo off the main highway, as police sirens sounded nearby.

"I'm heading back to Gotham, Al, this whole evening was lame, except for the last few minutes." Selena complained. "I'd second guess that notion, Miss Kyle, there are still the matters of the outstanding warrants for a certain felonious feline in Gotham, Star City, and Grandville."

"True, Al. I thought Brucey was taking care of those. I gave the gems, money, and cat statue back to Gotham Jewelers. As for Star City and Grandville, those minor infractions are hardly worth pursuing a class act like myself." Alfred rolled his eyes. "Master Bruce is taking an awful chance on you."

Selena glanced downward. _If you only knew why, Alfred_, She mused. Lois began to stir. Selena slipped her cat mask back over her face. Alfred took a moment to don Robin's black mask and tie a blue handkerchief around his nose and mouth. Lois muttered. "Clark?" as her eyes flitted open.

"Guess again." Selena smiled as she bent over Lois's face. "What? I must've hit my head!" She rubbed her arm, and glanced into the front seat. "Hello!" She gasped. "Look you two, I don't want to be part of your cat fetish romantic evening in the back of a limo. You can drop me off right here."

Catwoman chuckled evilly. "Hear that, she doesn't like our company." She taunted. Alfred slowed the car to a crawl and quickly whipped out a spray can of bat gas, spraying it at Lois's face. Selena backed off just in time, and covered her nose and mouth. Lois fell sound asleep, snoring quietly.

Back at the battle zone, Barbara glanced over the edge of the ravine at her still smoldering mode of transportation. "I guess that I'll need a new Batcycle." She put her hands on her thin waist. Clark was back at Bruce's car. Dick was pulling the mud, branches, and leaves off of his ride.

"Where's Lois?" Clark demanded as Bruce kicked the last of the weapons away from the thugs. "She's fine, Kent. Heading back to Metropolis." Batman turned his back on him, and sat in the driver's seat. "No. Call whomever, and tell them to take her to my house. I'll give you all the directions." Superman directed. "It's not far from here." Bruce obeyed. "Whatever!"

Clark saw Barb overlooking the small canyon, and went over to talk to her. Bruce and Dick may not have been exactly sure what they witnessed Superman doing, but Batgirl was certain. Clark sighed and put his hand on Barb's slim shoulder. "We should talk." He began calmly.

Barb glanced up at him, and shocked Clark by kissing him on the cheek. "Thanks for saving my life, Clark." He reddened as Barb turned away from the overhang and pressed a small button on her gold belt. The motorcycle exploded into a fiery molten mess. There was literally nothing left of it.

That massive explosion was sure to garner interest from the entire area. Sirens already wailed in the distance, they only had a few minutes. "Ready, Batgirl?" Robin said as he pulled the cycle up alongside them. "We should give Batman a chance to discuss this with Kent." He suggested.

Barb ignored him for the moment and followed Clark like a lost puppy to Batman's car. Dick rolled his eyes and grumbled. "You know, I'm getting hungry." He complained. "Beating bad guys' asses usually makes me work up an appetite."

Clark stood near the passenger's side of the car, leaning on the misshapen gull wing door that he'd ruined. "We should go. I'd rather not answer a lot of embarrassing questions." Bruce admitted. "Hop in, Kent, and don't break anything else."

Barb reluctantly climbed up on the back of Dick's cycle, and hung onto his waist as he peeled out, trailing Bruce and Clark. _This ought to be interesting_, Batman mentally groused.


	8. Chapter 8: Forming Alliances

_Forming Alliances_

Clark began giving Bruce directions, before the Batman held his gloved hand up. "Address." He said with a surly edge to his voice. Superman gave Bruce the location of the Kent Farm. He repeated it for the benefit of the voice activated GPS. The route was locked in as Batman sped up and down the deserted two lane highways, Robin and Batgirl at their heels.

Robin opened up the cycle, pulling up alongside the Batman's black sports car. "Nice ride." Clark praised, trying to make small talk with Bruce. "Is this a modified Sterling?" Batman scowled. "It is." Clark sat in silence for a moment. Not much for conversation, is he?

"So, Mr. Wayne, what's with the costume?" Clark threw down the gauntlet. Bruce gulped. How had he known? "I figure that fair's fair. You saw me using my abilities. You weren't out there stuck in between the two cartel commando squads by accident."

Clark tried to keep the accusatory tone from his voice. "What would the Batman of Gotham City be doing all the way out here in the middle of Kansas?" Clark pressed.

Bruce spun the Sterling into a quick right angle turn onto the access road to the Kent Farm property. Robin and Batgirl followed closely, but they weren't alone. A moonlit shadow traced the road behind them, another shadow leapt above a row of foliage, and cut through a cornfield, flattening stalks as it ran.

"Here's the deal, Kent." Bruce growled. "If you want to share information, this is your only chance to do so. I have my hands full of perverts, derelicts, and psychotic criminals in Gotham. I don't need another problem or set of problems. I'd been reading about the Smallville meteor freaks. Most of which ended up in asylums, dead, or mysteriously disappeared."

"I had to check it out for myself." Batman squealed the Sterling's tires onto a gravel side road within the Kent Farm fencing. Barb and Dick took a pounding, as the remaining cycle bounced along. "Not only have I read the tales of weird happenings, I also have a few stories about a red and blue blur saving people, and occasionally knocking some criminal elements down to size."

"My question is: what side are you on?" Bruce frowned. "I could ask the same of you." Clark replied. "You say that you've heard of me." Bruce sidestepped as he pulled onto the Kent driveway. "What do you think?" Clark hadn't expected that type of comeback. "Where do you draw the line between vigilantism and crime fighting?" Superman countered. "Where do you?" Batman snapped.

"I'm trying to lead a normal life, Mr. Wayne." Clark began. "The trouble is that the more I'd try to conceal my identity, the more trouble I caused." Bruce found that he could relate to that. "I'll buy that, Kent. It's not easy…leading a double life. You have twice as many expectations for yourself, and twice as many from others. You can start by telling me flat out…what you think."

"It's becoming obvious that I can't hide my abilities forever." Clark admitted depressingly. "Maybe you shouldn't." Bruce put in as he pulled up alongside the house. "A mutual friend of ours, let's call him a foreigner, or a visitor, turned me on to a group of people that are making a difference."

Batman shut down the car as Robin and Barb pulled up. "Let me jog your memory…he appears out of nowhere…and has flight capabilities. I haven't seen him lately. Goes by the name of Detective Jonn Jonz." Clark was shocked. How much did Bruce know? "Way ahead of you, Kent." Batman said. "I knew the what, when, and some of the how, but I didn't know the who or the why."

"When the mysterious red and blue blur started appearing, I knew that I'd find the answer here." Bruce popped open the gull wing doors. Clark systematically reshaped the door with his hands, as Batman watched in awe. Barbara and Dick stood by the cycle and gaped.

"Don't stare, kids, it's not nice." Clark teased the teenagers. "You still haven't answered my original question, Clark probed. "I am not above the law." Bruce replied sternly. "I always have a habit of bending the law as far as I can. The police, the DA, the Feds, all have limitations imposed on them."

"As the Batman I can do things that no one else can." Bruce concluded as the gull wing doors automatically began to close, none the worse for wear. He flipped the security alarm on. "As a word of advice, never touch this car." Bruce menaced. "Its alarm is roughly akin to a slight electrocution."

"Does Lois know?" Bruce brought up out of the blue. "No. I've tried to keep her out of all this. Unfortunately, she never takes no for an answer, and never gives up." Barb was back at Clark's side, obviously infatuated, as Dick rolled his eyes. "Can you keep her, please?" he begged playfully.

Clark and Barb both reddened. Bruce stifled a chuckle. "Kent, get your own sidekick!" Clark shifted nervously. "Lois will be here soon, I take it?" he questioned. "Yes. Alfred and Selena are on their way." Dick grimaced. "You told him, didn't you?" Bruce shook his head. "Nope. He found out on his own." Barb swallowed hard. "So much for our secret identities."

"I was just telling Kent about our mysterious friend, that magically appeared in the Batcave that one day." Bruce began, as he stood across from his protégées, with arms folded. "Kent knows tall, dark, and scary?" Dick was incredulous. Barb whistled. "I take it that Clark's our man."

Bruce nodded. "You're the red and blue blur saving Metropolis?" Dick was finally getting a handle on what they'd come here for. Clark sighed. "Yes." Barb's eyes lit up as she quickly hugged Superman. "Awesome, dude! I knew you were on our side." Clark flushed again.

"What's with the Bats?" Clark questioned, curious as to how this time line's Bruce Wayne would answer. "It's just this thing that I have." Bruce shifted uncomfortably. At least he's consistent, Superman thought. "Anyway, what's the connection with the drug cartels?"

Bruce glanced towards the house. He thought that he saw a shadow darting between the trees and the barn. "Maybe we should go inside?" Clark asked nervously. He surveyed the house with his x-ray vision and only noticed that Shelby / Krypto was at home. "Come on."

He opened the front door, and the costumed crew warily followed him inside. Clark opened the refrigerator and took stock of what he could offer his impromptu guests. "Got any beer?" Dick quipped. Bruce gave him a dirty look. "I think not." He chastised his young assistant.

"Nope. Just water, orange juice, and milk." Clark replied cheerfully. "I suppose the masks are irrelevant." Barb said as she flipped up her bat mask, revealing a full head of long curled red hair. The Batgirl had a thin face, big blue eyes, and high cheekbones. Dick followed suit next.

Bruce still left his cape and cowl on. "Ice water, please." He asked. "The same." The teen crime fighters chorused. Clark distributed the drinks. Shelby / Krypto barked happily. "Aw, you have a dog!" Barb sighed. "Does he have super powers, too?" Clark shook his head. "No."

"I wish he did, though. He could let himself out, feed himself, and get his own water." Superman added comically, trying to ease the awkwardness of the moment. Bruce finally flipped up his bat mask. "So…?" Clark encouraged someone to start a conversation.

"The Mowhala cartel is fighting for drug territory in the Midwest." Bruce began. "They left me a long line of bodies from Mexico, to California, and to Gotham City. It was sheer accident that we ran into them here in Metropolis. My guess is that they didn't appreciate your girl's news story about them."

"We came here, not to put too fine a point on it, but…to find you, Kent." Batman admitted.


	9. Chapter 9: Battle Ready

_Battle Ready_

The amethyst shard story continues...

"Why?" Clark wondered. "Because, I believe that we're facing a bigger threat than the cartels. I have information that an entire society of anarchists is massing for an attack. The Department of Domestic Security Administration simply labels them malcontents, or domestic terrorists."

"We're going to need all the help we can get. They have splinter cells all over the country, and of course, the world. My Intel is spotty at best. I spoke with Detective Jonz about them, and he concurs, suggesting that I come to Metropolis for some answers. He didn't say who you were, though."

"On that depressing note…" Barb began as she drank some of her water. Suddenly the front door burst open, and Kara literally flew into the kitchen. Dick dropped his water bottle on the floor as Kara landed vertically in front of him.

Laura had run in from the back door, and to the others, appeared to come out of nowhere. Barb jumped as Laura skidded to a stop beside her. "What's up, girl?" Barb nearly choked on her drink, spitting out some water onto the floor, naturally, Shelby / Krypto was already lapping it up.

Laura playfully and carefully slapped Barb across the back. Bruce was caught directly in between the two super powered teens. "Sorry about them." Clark apologized. "We've blown our secret identities yet again," Barb complained. "On the other hand, we may have all the help that we need."

"Girls, we talked about judicious use of your abilities." Clark lectured them. Bruce was so taken aback, that he forgot about his mask and cowl completely. "Oh, take the stick out, Kal." Kara smart mouthed him. "Richard, good to see you again." Laura addressed Robin. "Hello." He said.

"Besides, we heard all the commotion on Route 6, saw the aftermath, and figured that it had something to do with you." Kara protested. Dick had gotten over his initial surprise and checked out Kara. "You are so hot!" Robin fawned over her. "Oh, thanks." She said innocently.

"What's with all the costumes? Halloween isn't until October." Laura teased, immediately recognizing the Batman from their earlier rooftop encounter. "I don't have a costume!" Laura feigned disappointment. "Anyway, Clark, we have another problem…a big one."

"What now?" Clark asked tiredly. "Our friends Chloe and Jimmy have been abducted. The Feds have them. I heard about some kind of hostage situation back in Metropolis." Laura gave them all the details.

"The Feds don't take hostages." Bruce countered. "They just have a way of 'relocating' people." Barb took one last drink of the water. "Or 'erasing' them." She added. "It could have been a group of rogue agents." Dick contributed.

"I heard it on the police scanner." Laura defended. "We should check it out." Bruce had regained his composure. "Uh…Clark…you're not the only red and blue blur, are you?" Superman shook his head. "It could've been Kara." Batman sighed. "Do we have time for a quick explanation?"

"While you all were having your costume party, a group of well organized and armed to the teeth terrorists seized the Fed HQ on the East side of Metropolis." Laura informed them. "At last count, there were about sixteen. Fortunately they didn't shoot anyone…yet."

"Uh…Clark, I thought you were seeing Miss Lane." Dick commented, becoming distracted by Kara's close proximity to him. "Oh. Kara is my cousin and Laura is…" Clark stopped mid sentence, as his super hearing picked up the approach of a car. Most likely it was Alfred, Selena, and Lois.

"I'm what?" Laura asked with some irritation in her voice. "Laura is a good friend." Superman finally finished. "Swell!" Laura sounded disappointed. Barb was clearly amused by all the tension between the young super heroes. "We'd better get going." Bruce urged, quickly sidestepping Laura.

"How long would it take to get to East Metropolis, Clark?" Batman edged towards the door, gulping down the last of the water. "About an hour as the crow flies." He replied. Laura couldn't resist: "A lot less as the Kara flies!" The super girl smiled brightly, melting Dick's heart.

"Do all of your cousins defy gravity, Clark?" Barb asked playfully as she moved closer to him. "Kara and I are the only ones…we know of…and Kara is the expert flyer." The Wayne limo was just pulling up the driveway. "Lois!" Clark exclaimed. "We'd better clear out!"

Shelby/ Krypto barked with the increased level of noise and tension in the room. "Why don't you just tell her, Clark? I mean what's the big deal?" Laura asked pragmatically. "It's complicated." He responded, opening the front door.

The bizarre crew headed outside. "Isn't it always?" Laura remarked. "Where are you guys originally from?" Dick asked out of curiosity. Kara smirked as Laura followed her out. She pointed up. "We're from there." Kara teased, extending her hand toward the sky.

Dick, Barb, and Bruce all gasped simultaneously. Clark just shook his head. What's the point of a secret identity anyway? He mused. Laura was caught off guard as well. It was the first time that she'd heard Kara admit that they were from another planet. "Space aliens?" Dick whistled.

"Clark and I prefer 'intergalactic refugees'." Kara joshed. "Are there more of you…I mean…here on Earth?" Barb finally managed to get out. "I hope not." Kara grumbled. Though she secretly hoped to one day find that Kandor or at least some of her people had made it to this world.

Batman had been typically silent, as his suspicions were confirmed. First this Jonn Jonz, and now Kara and Clark? He would have to reevaluate his whole view of the world and his potential allies. This definitely made everything more complicated.

Alfred popped open the doors to the limo and Selena slunk out, still donning her Catwoman costume. "Not another one!" Laura exclaimed. "I definitely need to get a costume, I mean if it's all the rage…" She quipped, making Kara chuckle.

"Aw! I missed the grand unmasking!" Selena complained as she sauntered past Clark, flipping her Cat mask up, letting her long blonde hair tumble down her back. "Clark, nice to see you again. We have your girl, though she's asleep, purring like a newborn kitten. Al zapped her with some Bat gas."

"Will she be all right?" He asked worriedly. "She'll be fine, Clark." Bruce answered. "I bet she'll be in a bad mood, though, missing out on her big story like this. The bat gas will wear off in about an hour. We ought to get moving. An hour to, East Metropolis, you say?"  
Clark nodded. "Hello sir." Alfred offered Clark a handshake. "I trust our young caped crusaders haven't been too much of a bother?" Superman smiled, as Alfred put him immediately at ease. "We're just brainstorming, Alfred." Bruce commented.

"How come we don't have a limo, Clark?" Laura quipped. "I don't think we need one, Laura." He deadpanned. Clark and Alfred carried Lois out of the limo and into the house, placing her comfortably on the couch. Clark zipped upstairs and back to change from his nearly ruined suit. Shelby / Krypto stood watch, as the others left.

"So, we are not alone." Barb said, shaking her head. "Extraterrestrials here in the Midwest? But, you look so…normal." Clark nodded. "Kara and I are basically the same as humans, just built a little differently." Selena was growing bored, and tired, as she led the others back to the vehicles.

"Will you be needing our services further?" Alfred asked Bruce. "I hope not, old friend." The Batman replied as he replaced his cowl and mask. "Laura, what's your story?" Dick returned his attention to her, as Kara floated nearby. "You're not an alien, too, are you?"

"Nope, Richard. I am one hundred percent Mid-western human female." Laura smirked. "I just happened to come upon some recent enhancements." Bruce listened with some curiosity. "You're a Metahuman?" Laura nodded. "I guess so. It beats being called a mutant."

"Sir, you may be interested in the local police calls." Alfred said from the front of the limo, with some urgency. "The terrorists in question have released the hostages…with one exception. They've also apparently given the Feds, the Police, and SWAT the slip, as they say."

"One exception?" Clark picked up on that instantly. "Yes sir." Alfred confirmed. "Someone called Chloe Sullivan?" Kara and Clark gasped, as Laura pounded one fist into her hand. "Damn it! I knew we should've gone straight there." Clark put his head in his hands. "That doesn't make sense."

"Chloe Sullivan?" Bruce echoed. "Your friend that writes about the meteor freaks?" Clark affirmed that. "That's her." Kara nervously circled the area roughly ten feet above everyone else. Barb, Dick, and Selena gawked. "A flying girl? That is so cool." The Catwoman remarked.

"What were the terrorists after, I wonder?" Barbara started up her detective mode. Clark shrugged. "Government secrets, weapons locations, a specific person…it could be anything." Bruce was puzzled as well. "It sounds like the hostage crisis is over, so where did they go? Why take your friend with, as the sole hostage? Something doesn't smell right."

"You're on a farm, Bruce. Nothing should smell right." Selena quipped. The Batman ignored her comments for the moment. "Alfred, Selena, do you want to hang with us, or have you had enough excitement for the day?" Bruce inquired. "I'll pass, Bruce. I need a catnap." Selena said.

"We have a few hours until sunrise, we should take advantage of the cover of night." Bruce directed logically. "Everyone ready?" Barb and Dick nodded. "I could use a double espresso though." Batgirl joked. Kara landed beside Laura, freaking Dick out again. "Amazing!" He exclaimed.

"Clark, what's the plan? You know this area better than any of us." Bruce was testing the farm boy's leadership ability. "We have to find Chloe, before anything else goes down." Superman began. "Kara, Laura, and I will use our …uh…advantages, to recon the area leading from East Metropolis."

"Bruce, maybe you, Dick and Barbara can begin heading that way from here, in case we miss the terrorists. Laura, you said that the police reported numerous assailants, so they must have a few vehicles. They've already got over an hour's lead time on us." Kal concluded.

"That leaves Miss Kyle and I to return to the hotel, and pack our things. Bruce Wayne is due to check out of the hotel by eleven AM." Alfred reminded them. "Alfred, you and Selena can serve as our communications base. Bring Hal Jordan in on this event as well."

"Are you sure that's wise, Master Bruce?" Alfred was always the voice of caution. "Hal has some military experience, and we can share some information with him. We'll just leave out a few of the more unusual details." Bruce glanced at Kara and Clark.

"Here." Batman handed Laura, Clark, and Kara miniature bat communicators. "We can still function as a team with these, eh Boy Scout?" He grinned lopsidedly at Clark. Superman gaped at the Dark Knight. How did he know what Ollie's team named him?

Kara and Laura placed the bat communicators on their ears, and they dangled like earrings. Clark put the comm unit in a pocket of his red flannel shirt. "Let's go!" Batman urged, just as the sky ahead of them lit up.

There were three tremendous explosions coming from the direction of the altercation with the drug cartels. "Whoa! What was that?" Dick shaded his eyes from the brilliant light.


	10. Chapter 10: Amethyst Concld

_Amethyst Shard_  
Scene: Kent Farm

Amethyst _Concluded_ PG-13

"Stay here! We'll investigate the explosion." Clark said before Bruce could add anything else. Kara and Clark sped off by air and land, respectively. Laura led the unusual group across the Kent property and into the barn. They fanned out.

"Awesome!" Dick praised as he checked out Clark's loft hideaway. "I bet he brought all of his girlfriends up here, present company excepted." He glanced over his shoulder at Laura. "You have an entire mansion to hang out in, birdbrain!" Barbara teased him.

Laura guided them up the wooden stairs. "I feel bad about being here." Barbara commented. "I mean, aren't we like, invading Clark's privacy?" She added. "He doesn't mind." Laura dismissed her remarks. "That's the difference between the city and the rural areas. People are very open about everything." Laura continued. "The Kents rarely even locked their doors."

Dick grinned. "Would you be worried about a robbery with the world's most powerful boy under your roof?" He joked. "Good point." Bruce agreed, though he was busily investigating Clark's loft with his trained detective eye. "Laptop, memorabilia, football jersey, pictures…" Bruce muttered.

"He seems exceedingly normal to me." Barb observed. "A space alien? He seems so…human." She added incredulously. "Speaking from personal experience, Clark was just as goofy as any teenage boy." Laura was careful not to betray any embarrassing details about her intended beau. "Now that he's older, more mature, and less fun I might add, he acts like a typical human male."

Bruce was examining Clark's photo collection, yearbook, and assorted novels, trying to determine the psychology of the pleasant alien. How does an alien view Earth? He silently wondered. "Let's see. Lana Lang…." Bruce focused on the pretty girl's high school photo.

Dick stopped nosing around Clark's clothes, satisfying his curiosity about what a space alien would wear. "Who?" Bruce picked up a few of Lana's pictures. "Lana Lang…Clark's first love, and a survivor of two devastating meteor showers." Batman was still looking for a meteor freak tie in.

He'd spent a limited amount of time studying Chloe Sullivan's Wall of Weird files. Laura filled them in on some of the blanks, though obviously Lana wasn't one of her favorite subjects. She'd lost the battle for Clark's attentions to the young orphan.

"Wasn't she seeing Lex Luthor?" Barb recalled an article in the society pages that she'd read two years ago about the celebrity couple. "Yes. Not one of her prouder moments, I'm sure. I'm certain that it led to their ultimate break up." Laura added cattily: "How could she trade down so far from Clark to the bald king of the trust fund kids?" She asked bitterly.

"I don't see the logic." Bruce remarked. "That's because it has nothing to do with logic." Barb teased her mentor. Soon after the discussion, Kara and Clark returned, looking grim. Superman glanced around the barn warily, but didn't make a fuss about the virtual strangers prowling throughout the loft. "Find anything interesting?" Kara asked no one in particular, coldly.

"Sorry. We didn't mean to invade your personal space." Barb apologized as she reddened slightly, and her cape swirled behind her, stirring up sawdust. "It's all right. This whole barn is a part of my past." Clark said solemnly.

"We have much bigger problems." Bruce snapped to attention. "The gang crime scene was totally obliterated. There was virtually nothing left. The thug's cars…and the state trooper's vehicles literally turned to molten dust."

"They're all dead?" Barbara gasped. "Yes. Over a dozen people, both good and bad, were killed." Kara replied tearfully. Even Bruce hadn't expected that. "We have to take a look at the scene. I have a Bat CSI kit in the Sterling." Clark was stunned. "Maybe it was a suicide pact? No witnesses?"

"What could do that kind of damage?" Dick asked, in shock. "A high powered explosive." Bruce grumbled. "Possibly a car bomb." He began his descent down the loft ladder. "Maybe one of the cartel goons had a 'no tell' policy?" Barbara guessed.

"It's possible." Batman agreed. "I think we would've found something that huge." Dick followed him out of the barn. "We secured all the criminals." He defended. "How could they pull something like that off?" Bruce shrugged. "Maybe with a timing mechanism?"

Bruce led the group to the souped up Sterling, his cape flowing behind him. He popped open the sleek sports car's trunk. A series of small packages spun out from the back seat at his coded signal from the Bat belt. "How did you two get mixed up with the Mowhalas anyway?" He interrogated Clark.

"They were going to exact revenge on Lois for writing a series of articles for the paper exposing their drug activities." Clark answered. "I just happened to get in the way." Batman opened the first Bat CSI kit. "Something still doesn't add up." Bruce began. "No offense, Kent, but why didn't the Mowhalas just kill you and Lois? Why set up the prisoner transfer? Who was the other party involved?"

Clark shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they were going to ransom us for drug money? Are you familiar with their motives?" Bruce shook his head. "No. The Mowhalas stay away from Gotham City. Unfortunately, the Tongs control most of the trafficking there. We bust them as often as we can, but there are so many kooks, weirdoes, and dangerous criminals around, that we have our hands full."

"The DEA and local authorities do most of the leg work." Bruce glanced up from the kit. "We could always use the extra help, Clark." Superman could tell that it was difficult for Bruce to admit that, from the tone of the crime-fighters voice. He produced several test tubes and a couple of scrapers.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Bruce." Clark graciously declined Batman's offer. "I get the feeling that I'll be very busy in Metropolis." Bruce handed him the vials. "You'll never get close enough to the scene to examine the evidence." Clark added. "The place was basically an inferno."

"That's why I'm counting on you and Kara." Bruce smirked. "I assume that you two are fireproof?" Clark nodded. He silently hoped that there were no stray kryptonite deposits in the area. "Kara? How'd you like to be a junior detective?" Dick joked as the alien teen floated along behind them.

"Sure." Kara said solemnly as she landed alongside Bruce. He shook his head in disbelief, still not used to the idea of aliens living among them. Barbara and Laura trailed her. "We still have to find Chloe." The metahuman teen reminded them. "This will only take a few minutes." Clark handed a few of the test tubes to Kara, as he spoke.  
"Remember to get samples of everything." Bruce lectured. "We need any traces you can find of the explosive residue, ordinance, projectiles, and …uh…human remains." He concluded grimly. The super powered aliens returned quickly with some still smoldering samples.

"I hate to leave a mystery unsolved." Bruce began. "We have to get going back to Gotham. Bruce Wayne has an important meeting tomorrow morning." Clark helped him store the samples. "I understand." He said, anxious to resume his search for Chloe and continue his overall mission.

"We'll e mail you with any results we come up with." Bruce offered, extending a gloved hand. "Clark, it was nice to finally meet you and Kara." He nodded towards the alien beauty. "Don't be a stranger." Barb said as she reached up and kissed Clark's cheek, testing Laura's patience.

Dick rolled his eyes. Laura, feeling left out, and a bit jealous, kissed Dick. She was partially trying to annoy Clark. Of course, he hadn't noticed, infuriating her more. "Richard, stay safe, and if you want, you can give me a call." Laura hastily scribbled her cell phone number and gave it to Robin.

"That outfit. It's just way too loud." Laura playfully criticized Dick. "You should go with something dark and brooding, say in a black and royal blue motif." Robin's eyes lit up. "Hey, at least I have a costume, Laura." He returned the dig. Kara watched the exchange with passing interest.

"Give it time, Richard." Laura held his hand for a moment before moving away. "I'll work on it. I'm thinking something in black leather with gold trim." Bruce had completed stowing the evidence in a large fireproof box, placing it back in the trunk. He climbed into the customized Sterling.

Barbara opted to ride with Bruce, leaving Dick to his cycle. He waved once more to Clark, Kara, and Laura before revving up the engine. The young superheroes drove off, Bruce in the lead. Laura sidled up to Clark. "They seemed nice. What a bizarre evening!" She commented.

"It's not over yet." Clark stated. "We still have to pick up Chloe's trail. Do you still have the Bat communicators?" The girls nodded. "Great. Keep them around. I get the feeling that this won't be the last time we see the caped crusaders." Laura and Clark dashed off towards the main road, and followed it to the highway leading away from the Metropolis FBI HQ.

Kara soared above them, masking her flight in the shadows of night. She wasn't quite sure what to make of their new costumed friends. Humans are inherently strange, she mused, dipping low above the tree line, startling a nighthawk tracking its prey.

Far ahead of them, Chloe's curiosity with the cult of terrorists was wearing thin. They'd gone silent, refusing to divulge any further information. Her quest for knowledge had its shortcomings. She lost interest quickly. I can always have them investigated by the Department of Domestic Security on line.

Chloe guessed that they were roughly thirty miles from Metropolis. There was nothing around. No witnesses, no help, no Clark. She suddenly clapped her hands together, creating a huge electrical impulse. Chloe grabbed each of her captors by the arm, electrocuting them.

She turned on the driver, hitting him with a short blast of supercharged energy. The electricity arced, crackling into the SUV's dashboard. The driver panicked, as the truck lost power. The black SUV skidded off the road and into a ditch, rolling up a muddy embankment.

Chloe blasted off the door with a stream of plasma. The power burst recoiled on her, causing minor burns, but she would survive. She ran into a wheat field. The driver was knocked unconscious, and the backseat abductors were busy putting out minor fires on their clothes.

One thug climbed out the open door and fired shots from a silver revolver randomly into the night. Chloe ran a zigzag pattern throughout the field, and fortunately all of the shots missed.

Chloe jogged into a nearby abandoned farmhouse. She'd nearly used up all of her energy. Clearly her electrical ability was severely limited. Something exploded in the direction from which she'd just run. The SUV blew up? She wondered silently. It wasn't that badly damaged. She sat down hard on a dust ridden old couch, breathing heavily.

Chloe tried to process all that she'd gone through. Terrorists invade a highly secured, but still vulnerable FBI office. They steal government files, and specifically abduct her, leaving more potential hostages behind. It made no sense.

What is with this cult-like approach, babbling on about their savior? Chloe pondered. The goddess they'd spoken of was to be golden-haired and have unbelievable powers. The only logical conclusion was that they'd mistaken her for Kara. She had to warn Clark and his little cousin before anyone else got hurt.

The explosion attracted Kara and she instructed Laura as to the location of it from her unique aerial perspective. They arrived, noting much the same scene as before. There was a smoldering crater about the size of a good two-car garage left, and not much else. "Same motive?" Kara wondered.

"Maybe the annihilation is somehow connected. The vehicles could have a built-in self-destruct initiative." Clark observed. "I hope Chloe wasn't in there." Laura said grimly. Kara immediately shot straight up, using her exceptional eyesight to survey the area.

Clark waved the acrid smoke away from his face. "She wasn't!" He said excitedly. "Kara, check the northern horizon." He ordered. "See there?" Clark pointed to a recently trampled path through the wheat stalks. "Good girl!" Laura exclaimed. "We still don't know if it was her, though."

"Kal! I see the heat signature of a person about one hundred yards in that direction." Kara gestured wildly. "It's on the first floor of an old farmhouse."

Amethyst – _Epilogue_

Clark, Kara, and Laura found Chloe and rushed back to the farm. Jimmy had called Clark in a major panic. Lois snoozed soundly on the couch where they'd left her. Kara volunteered to fly back to Metropolis and let Jimmy know that Chloe was safe, pretending that she had been driving past, and saw the commotion at FBI HQ.

Jimmy was stuck at a debriefing, and the FBI intended to hold him for further questioning. He gave them an eyewitness account of the attackers, and afterwards in the confusion, Kara snuck him out the side door. By then, Chloe had been filled in on the Dark Knight and his companions' adventures.

Clark zipped her back to the hotel, where she'd retrieved their car and drove out to the FBI HQ to pick Jimmy up. Kara slipped away unnoticed. Laura and Clark had a long awkward talk about their past and Laura's possible future involvement with Oliver's team.

It was nearly sunrise when Lois stirred, and Laura left. Clark hadn't been to sleep yet. She awakened, holding her throbbing head. "Ow!" She sat up slowly as Clark watched her through narrowing eyes. Kara had returned, and gone upstairs to bed after checking on Lois.

"Hey Smallville!" Lois was glad to see him. "What the hell did I drink last night?" She mumbled. "I don't know Lois, you hit the Martinis pretty hard." Clark teased. "I had this dream about some kind of guy with a cat fetish, thought that someone was shooting at me, saw Kara flying through the air, and was surrounded by costumed creeps dressed mostly in black." Lois yawned.

"Really? That's pretty vivid." Clark downplayed the events. "Rest assured that Kara is upstairs sound asleep. It's been quiet on the farm." Clark left it at a half-truth. The farm had actually been quiet for a few minutes recently. "Did I see Laura Lake here?" She grilled him.

"Yes. Laura was pretty buzzed. I let her sleep it off, before Kara gave her a ride home." Clark was tired of spinning lie after lie to Lois. He reminded himself that it was for her own good. "Kara drove her to Nebraska?" Lois asked foggily. "No, to the hotel in Metropolis." Clark lied again.

"My mouth tastes like the sawdust in your barn." Lois complained. Clark got up and grabbed them both an ice water. "Clark, why is it that whenever we go out, I end up with a throbbing headache, a case of amnesia, or passed out on your couch?"

"I think it was just too many martinis, and not enough sleep." Clark deadpanned. "You're stone cold sober, aren't you?" Lois grumbled. "Yes. I didn't drink much." At least that was the truth, he reasoned.

"I hate you, and if that rooster crows, I'm throwing it in a pot." Lois put her long legs back on the sofa. Clark laughed. "You don't mean that, Lois."

"Yeah, I've personally got nothing against…**the rooster**." She smirked and fell back asleep. Clark covered her with a blanket and fell back into the chair.

coming soon: Time Shards 2 continues with a new threat.


	11. Chapter 11: Arcanah

Chapter 6: Arcana: The Violet Shard PG -13 violence

Disclaimer: _Arcanna is a Marvel Comics character, not related to my story. My character is called Arcanah, and is original. Her social group is called the Arcanites. Arcana is also a comic book company, unrelated to DC or Smallville_.

Recently, mathematicians have correlated a theory, backed up by statistical probability, that there are between forty thousand and fifty five thousand worlds that can support reasonably intelligent life forms in our galaxy alone.

Perhaps three hundred sixty species are capable of reaching Earth within the next four hundred years..._not all of them will be friendly. - Marcus Worthington_, _Chronicler of Days, 2009 A.D_.

**Fringe:**

Last episode of Time Shards: Chloe had just been abducted by a group of crazed terrorists, who had taken over a government facility, stolen some information, and imprisoned all of the employees and one James Olsen, in a conference room, yet they hadn't killed anyone.

Chloe escaped her strange captors and was subsequently rescued by Kara, Clark, and Laura Lake.

At the apartment above the Talon, Chloe and Clark are catching up. "You don't know what group was responsible?" Clark questioned. "No. Here's the thing, Clark." Chloe replied. "They were after something specific that our Fed friends had in their supposedly secured database."

"I believe that the group responsible is some sort of Doomsday cult, and putting all of our adventures together, I believe that they had a suicide pact. If the terrorists failed, they were to take their own lives, rather than get caught and grilled by the Gov."

"That all fits." Clark agreed. "But which cult? There are dozens if not hundreds of fringe groups, anarchists, and generally bizarre people that join such groups." Chloe nodded, frustrated at their lack of information. "Put it this way, Clark, these dissidents and malcontents are highly motivated and well funded, not to mention professional and well organized."

"They have to have a website. I mean most organizations do." Clark rubbed his thin chin. "We still don't know why they picked me, out of all possible high value hostages." Chloe added. "I think we're going to have a massive web surfing party at the Isis Foundation. Let's hit it tomorrow, before their trail goes cold." Clark agreed, and invited Lois, Kara, Laura, and their new friend, the Dark Knight.

"What was he like, I mean, the Batman?" Chloe pressed, though she was dying to find out who the Dark Knight was. "The jury's still out on that." Clark frowned. "He seemed like he was honestly trying to make a difference. I don't really approve of his methods."

"You of all people shouldn't be judgmental, Clark." Chloe gently rebuked him. "Give it time, maybe the Batman will become a staunch ally." Superman grinned. It was as if Chloe was reading his tortured mind. "You know that he has helpers." He teased. "Helpers?" Chloe echoed.

"Yes. The Batman has two sidekicks, and he knows Oliver." Clark tempted Chloe's interest. "Really? Two?" She was incredulous. "Do I detect a note of sidekick envy?" Chloe taunted. He just snickered. "Don't feel bad, Clark. You still have me, Lois, Kara, and now Laura, to hang with. You might consider starting some kind of a league, or legion." Chloe's eyes sparkled playfully.

"Yeah, maybe." Clark laughed before he said goodnight and dashed off. Jimmy was just getting home. "I see you're safe and sound." He said to his young girlfriend. "Yes, thanks to Clark and Kara."

Chloe agreed. "Those two seem to get around, don't they?" Jimmy asked suspiciously. "You have no idea, Jimbo, no idea!" Chloe said.

Meanwhile far away in the dark Kansas night, a group of black SUVs rendezvoused at a familiar cave. "Mistress? Mistress?" A trembling goon called into the darkness. "Yes, Ira?" A soft female voice responded, as she suddenly appeared behind them.

"Where is my prize, the golden one?" She asked in a calm but menacing tone. The goon named Ira averted his eyes, gazing into the dirt, as the tall, slender, beautiful leader encircled him. "We have failed you, my lady." A second thug spoke, now that Ira knelt on the ground, whimpering.

"What is the price of failure?" She asked. "Death!" The whole group of about fifteen cult members, mostly male, chorused. "Yes. Normally, I would demand all your lives as a penance for your shortcomings. We have to maintain discipline in the ranks you know."

"Yes, Mistress!" They yelled in unison. "Today, we will change this philosophy. Our ranks have dwindled." The voluptuous leader stood atop a large, flat, rock outside the cave. "The price for this failure will not be exacted, yet. Though the great Zoroaster will spin in his grave, we must adapt."

"I, Janai Arcanah, have commanded this change. We are, after all, in the twenty-first century. The times call for a different tact. The golden one still lives?" She interrogated them. The second guy answered her. "Yes, my lady. We will not fail you again." Janai smiled evilly. "I know you won't."

"Seth, I admire your spirit." She praised the responder. "Do you love me?" Seth got down on one knee. "You know I do, Mistress." Janai pulled out a nasty looking dagger from her thin, loose fitting, violet colored tunic. "As High Priestess, I forgive the failings of you all, except one."

"Seth, will you do me the honor? Kill Ira, for his failure." Janai's perfectly white teeth sparkled in the moonlight. She handed Seth the dagger. "I would be honored, Mistress." Ira stood up tall and straight, accepting his fate without question. Seth plunged the dagger into Ira's heart, killing him instantly. Janai laughed as the body fell at her bare feet.

**Scene**: Isis Foundation – Clark, Kara, Laura, and Chloe are busily researching all known fringe groups, looking for anything to tie a cult to Chloe's abductors. "Wow! There sure are a lot of fringe groups." Kara observed as she sped through some computer screens.

"They seemed to know their way around the area." Chloe recalled, tiredly. "It could be a local chapter of undesirables." Laura stopped her research to glance at Clark, who was hyper reading through a number of web links. He was suddenly aware of her stare. "Laura, thanks for coming on such short notice." He turned toward her and smiled.

"No problem. I enjoy your little Scooby Club, and it's not as if there's anything to do back in Nebraska. In Falcon Claw they pretty much roll up the streets at ten o'clock. Besides, I think we should work together." She attempted to flirt with him. Superman cast her a blank stare.

"Work together? You mean like at the Daily Planet? Wouldn't that be a hell of a commute for you?" Clark joked. Laura chuckled. "No, doofus! I mean with you and Kara, Chloe, and Oliver. We're kindred spirits, all of us. Misfits working towards the greater good." She added half-seriously.

Clark was glad to hear that she had made a choice. It would be much easier for him to keep an eye on her. Still, she was reckless, and far too confident in her unusual abilities. "I like the idea." Clark began. "You'll have to play by the rules, though." Kara rolled her eyes. Here it comes! She thought sourly, the old 'with great power comes great responsibility' speech. She sighed.

"You mean no more skewering evildoers with an old dagger?" Laura asked sarcastically, recalling her brush with vengeance. (From "Edge of Darkness"). "Yeah, something like that." Clark dead panned. "I am so over that whole revenge thing." Laura lied convincingly.

"By the way…" Laura zipped away, startling everyone. She returned shortly with today's edition of the Daily Planet. "Don't even try and deny this…" Laura waved the headline page in front of Clark's face. "Red and blue blur stuns city…saves many. By Lois Lane." She read aloud.

She stood toe to toe with him, reaching upward to make eye contact. Laura flipped to another page. "Here you go…page three…Vigilante, terrorist, alien, or angel?" She read aloud, causing Clark to redden. "That was a follow up story by another journalist. Which is it, Clark?" She teased.

"It depends on one's point of view." Chloe butted in. "The Batman gets the same publicity over in Gotham City. Some are happy he and his sidekicks are around, others claim that the caped crusaders are doing whatever they want, and are on the police department payroll."

"I can handle that lifestyle." Laura smiled. "Laura Lake, the mysterious Gold Wing, saves Metropolis." She quipped, imagining her own headlines. Kara and Chloe laughed. Clark wasn't nearly as amused. Was the teen super hero serious, or just blowing smoke? He wondered.

"That kind of blows your secret identity." Kara joked. "True. What do you think Clark?" Laura sped away and returned, looking completely different. She had piled her raven black hair high atop her head, leaving her trademark golden yellow strands of hair dangling loosely.

Laura had even donned the dummy 'cat glasses' that she enjoyed fooling people with. "Now you see Laura Lake, computer geek and nerdling." She zipped away again and garnered everyone's attention with a surprisingly mature looking costume.

Laura now sported black leather pants, the cuff coming about halfway down her shins, shiny black leather well heeled boots, a black leather jacket, a bright yellow low cut, cleavage sharing cropped shirt, which bared her midriff, and a simple black mask covering her eyes. "Voila! Gold Wing!" Laura said, jokingly doing a runway model walk across the floor and back.

"Works for me." Chloe joked. Kara snickered. "I love it! Clark, what do you think?" She put her cousin on the spot. "I like it." Clark said calmly, adding: "The mask is a bit much, though. Besides, no one's going to be looking at your face." Kara gasped. "Ooh! Snap! A compliment from my cousin?"

Laura reddened, causing everyone to crack up.

Chloe continued to surf the web, finally coming across an interesting story. "I may have it, everyone." She announced. "Three weeks ago, Metropolis Police picked up a guy that was described as, frightened out of his wits, the report states. MPD classified him as mentally disturbed."

"He kept on ranting about a great evil, the end of all things." Chloe read. "One word he mentioned frequently was Arcanah. I cross-referenced the name with our list of cult personalities. Arcanah came up as Janai Arcanah, High Priestess of the Arcanites. They're on the government's terrorist organization watch list. Though so far, they haven't been connected with any criminal activity."

"High Priestess?" Clark echoed. "Yes. Here's a website that one of Janai's zealots created. The data is a bit old, four years ago is the last blog entry date." Chloe pulled up the Arcanite Web Page. "The Arcanites based their philosophy on Zoroastrianism, the ancient Persian religion."

"Their lead prophet, Zarathustra, founded the religion, as an alternative to other cultures." Chloe continued. "The Arcanites have co-opted some of the ideals and twisted them together with Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy. Man versus Superman, the religion of perfection." Clark frowned.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this." He said as Chloe added. "According to their mantra, failure is a sign of weakness, and nothing can be learned from it, therefore it should be eliminated." Kara's eyes lit up. "Wow! Talk about being uptight!" Chloe read further. "The Arcanites also dabbled in Alchemy, or the legend of turning common metals into gold."

"The Arcanite sect was established in Azerbaijan. The Department of Domestic Security lists its first contact and investigation of the cult as May, 2005. The year of the last great meteor shower." Chloe gulped. "A phantom we missed?" Kara seized on the connection. "Let's not jump to conclusions." Clark warned. By now Laura was investigating her own leads on Janai Arcanah.

"I've got a photo. It's not particularly clear, though." She announced, as Clark, Kara, and Chloe crowded around her terminal. "Janai Arcanah, born in Kajikistan, 1984. She's pretty." Laura commented. "Beware devils in angel's clothing." Lois Lane chimed in. The reporter had just entered the room while everyone's interest was on the Arcanite Website.

"Hey Cuz!" Chloe greeted her. "We have a new mystery?" Lois immediately shoved her way in between the others, surrounding Laura. "Hey kid! Nice outfit!" Lois praised the super-powered teen. "Are you going to give the Red and Blue Blur a run for his money?"

"Ooh, busted!" Kara muttered. Laura gulped, ignoring Lois's comment. Clark had been worried, knowing that Lois and Jimmy were nearly onto him and his crime-fighting efforts. Fortunately, Lois was more interested in the Arcanite Website. "Are we tracking wackos full time now?" She joked. "Pretty much." Clark replied warily. "I smell a story!" Lois smiled, as the room fell silent.

The computer console in front of Lois beeped. "You have mail!" She said, playfully. "From Uncle Tom?" Lois read. "We don't have an Uncle Tom, do we Chlo'?" Chloe shook her head. "It's probably just spam." Kara observed. "Should I delete it?" Laura inquired.

"Wait. Chloe, how're your virus and spam blocker programs?" Clark asked. "The best Lana could buy." She replied without thinking it through. Clark grimaced. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up the "L" word." Chloe apologized with disdain. "Why?"

"Let's check it out. Open it." Clark urged Laura. The Email opened and one phrase popped up. "If you have tried and failed, does it mean that you've failed to try?" She read aloud. "It sounds like a riddle." Chloe guessed. "It's waiting for an answer." Kara glanced over Laura's shoulder.

"Friedrich Nietzsche." Clark replied as Laura typed it in. The mail took them to a sub link. "What end did you pull that out of, Smallville?" Lois asked sarcastically. "It's a history of the Arcanites!" Laura announced excitedly. "The riddle must have tripped a subroutine."

Chloe read the story: The Arcanites were an obscure religious sect that descended from the Zoroasters, combining their philosophy with Wiccans, Pagans, and Druids, the Arcanah believed that they could shape the world in their own twisted image, with their slanted way of looking at things.

As with all narrow-minded cultures, the Arcanah thought that their view was the only righteous one, and everyone else's view was incorrect or jaded. The Arcanah hierarchy was based on whose bloodlines were the purest, or specific to a certain area they grew up in, their homeland.

"Who does that sound like, Clark?" Chloe asked. Zod and Zor El! He mused silently, not wanting to alarm Lois. Labeled as a racist or closed society, the Arcanah's numbers dwindled. She continued to read. One true blood Arcanite, Laslow Cur, recognized that his race was on the verge of extinction.

Cur also happened to have a degree in advanced applied biological sciences. "Wait a minute!" Laura interrupted. "My uncle, Robert Wells, crossed swords with Cur in 2006! He was a teacher at Lincoln University in Nebraska. My uncle became suspicious of Cur, based on his responses to a questionnaire in his Logic and Philosophy class."

"Laslow's answers seemed odd or unusual, if not downright anarchical to him. My uncle gave him a failing grade, which forced Cur to default on his intended degree. Eventually, Cur dropped out, and hooked up with another student, Janet Arkon." Laura concluded. "Janai Arcanah!" Chloe snapped.

"It very well could be." Clark agreed. "Anything else that you can remember, Laura?" The teen sleuth thought long and hard. "Sure!" She added excitedly. "Cur's name came up with guess who? Rex Rowland! Rex hired Cur to work in research and development."

"This is getting nasty!" Lois commented. "Rowland and Cur on the same team? I'd bet that it's hardly a coincidence." Clark shook his head. "We're still missing something. You said Cur never attained his degree. Why would Rowland payroll him?" Laura shrugged. "Birds of a feather…?"

"There's more to the letter." Chloe returned everyone's attention to the screen. The Arcanites slowly grew in number, finally making it onto the DDS watch list. Most government agencies regarded the Arcanites as a low level splinter group. They hadn't been dealing in drugs, weapons, or any illicit activities, so the government tossed the file on the backburner. Chloe concluded.

"Why is there a bat on your Email screen?" Lois asked Chloe. "A bat? You mean the flying rodent kind?" She followed Lois's gaze. "Exactly." Clark and Kara collectively gasped. "I don't know, Lo' maybe someone's pranking me." Chloe tried to downplay the note.

"Bull!" Lois exclaimed. "You're in contact with him, aren't you?" Chloe was worried. "Him? Who?" Lois shook her head. "The Batman of Gotham." Chloe laughed. "Why would the Batman want to contact me?" Lois turned to face her cousin. She had a hurt look on her face.

"What's with all this cloak and dagger stuff, anyway?" Laura tried to distract Lois. "Okay, Lo' The Batman is a fan of my Wall of Weird stories." Chloe explained, which was at least partially true. "When I put my public meteor freak files on the web, and sent out a feeler to get said meteor freaks to respond to the Isis Foundation, the Batman picked up on it."

"Honestly, this is the first time he's E-mailed me. He's called me a couple of times on my cell, but I can't trace the call, nor would I want to. We know he's located in Gotham, so why try tracking him?" Clark nodded. "Besides, I'm sure his security system blows the doors off of ours."

Lois sighed with frustration. "Fine. Whatever!" Clark really felt bad about concealing things from Lois. He didn't want to weave a new web of lies, like he'd done with Lana. Maybe, it was time…he lost his train of thought, as Laura noted that the bat icon flashed red. An emergency signal? She wondered. "Chloe, maybe you'd better take this." She got up from the console.

Chloe sat in her spot. "Okay, I hate to say this, but everyone…out! I doubt if the Batman wants his mail broadcast on the ten o'clock news, or wants to make the headlines on the Daily Planet front page." Lois put her hands up in resignation. "Fine! Don't drop a house on me!"

"C'mon Lois, I'll buy you a nice steaming Latte." Clark gingerly put his arm around the journalist's shoulders, causing Kara and Laura to snicker, as they all filed out of the control center.

After they'd gone, Chloe opened the E Mail. It read:

Watchtower! Inquiry on Arcanah proves that their M O coincides with other instances of mysterious deaths across country. Usually with compromised explosives from government surplus. Follow up investigation shows Arcanites involved in anarchic uprising.

Rhetoric from web indicates that the Arcanites are plotting against government. Massive buildup in members, communication increased tenfold. They're slowly being moved up on the terrorist watch list. As usual, the government is moving incrementally. Cumbersome red tape, be aware.

Arcanah are planning to relocate from Kansas to Central City. Latest intel shows that hits on the website have tripled in last two months. Best of luck, B G.

"B. G.?" Chloe repeated. "Batgirl!" She must be hooked up, and piggybacking on the Isis Foundation system. Those guys are good! She thought dryly.

continued in _Delusions of Grandeur._


	12. Chapter 12:Dark HeartsValkyrie

Violet Time Shard - _Delusions of Grandeur_

A pretty young woman in a purple knee length dress walked barefooted across the rocky and sandy trail without complaint, or apparent injury to her feet. A tall olive skinned man walked beside her. He appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent. "We are ready, Priestess." He informed her in a slight accent. "The lambs prepare for the slaughter."

"Samir, you are so overly dramatic." Janai said. "Not that I'm complaining. It is our destiny. We will once again walk proudly among the peoples of the world. The infidel's will never see the dagger until it is within their belly." Janai boasted. "Now who's being dramatic?" Samir questioned.

"They will resist, my Priestess." Samir pointed out. "Of course. All of our children will die with honor, their place assured by Zoros in the Promised Land." Janai countered. "This day will long be remembered in our Faith."

Janai and Samir walked gingerly up the path, leading to the top of the bluff. Central City's skyscrapers loomed in the distance. Below them, Samir and Janai felt the ground rumble. The rocks split apart, as a legion of soldiers, clad in all black, walked out from the caves.

Each soldier was armed with a weapon, some old, common, guns, some new and improved versions, and some held daggers and decorated swords. Janai's Army of Darkness had begun its march. Behind the foot soldiers rumbled old but still fully functional black tanks.

The legion crossed the path into the sunlight for the first time. The soldiers covered their faces briefly, since the light seemed to burn a hole in their retinas. It took them a moment to compensate by placing thick sunglasses, and common machinist goggles over their eyes.

Janai held up her arms, and the army halted its advance. "Today, my brethren, dawns a new day." Janai began charismatically. "We begin our recapture of the world entreated to us by our ancestors. Earth will once again be the homeland of the Arcanah. Sword of Gideon…I call on you to watch over our children in this, the greatest of all battles." Janai caused a flaming sword to appear above them.

Even Samir was impressed with the display, as he silently wondered how she managed to pull that vision off. The troops cheered as they followed row by row. Central City didn't expect the onslaught. The Army of Darkness would overwhelm the local police department.

The Arcanah had the element of surprise on their side. The battle quickly became bloody. The National Guard would be called up soon, but too late to save many. Street by street, the Army of Darkness captured, killed, and assaulted the residents, stopping briefly to pillage some neighborhood stores. By nightfall, the odds had evened. Dozens lay dead in the streets on both sides.

_Scene:_ Underground bunker in Kansas City, Mo. Active missile silo conference room.

General Sam Lane pounded a fist on his desk. "How the hell could this happen?" His subordinates met him with blank stares. "Someone tell me how a terrorist organization could literally blitzkrieg an American city! They were right under our noses, for goodness sakes! Where the hell did they get fully functional tanks? How could they commandeer a few armored Humvees?"

Silence. "Get out! All of you!" The committee quietly got up, nervously grabbing their laptops, Raspberries, and paperwork, and began filing out. General Lane grabbed his second in command, Steven West, by the arm. "Steve, get me the Pentagon. We'll probably have to negotiate to get our city back. We'll find out what they want. The President will decide ultimately what to do."

_Gotham City_ – Bruce Wayne hurriedly undressed, stalking towards one of the secret entrances to the Bat Cave. Dick Grayson, and Barbara Gordon were already inside, fully dressed and ready to go. Alfred awaited Bruce's arrival with the latest in Wayne Tech communication devices.

Bruce shot two specific alien goons with a predetermined weapon on his stand up arcade game. The wall behind the game slid open, revealing one of three high-speed elevators connecting Stately Wayne Manor with the refurbished Bat Cave, a few stories below ground level.

He entered his secret code, and the elevator dropped like a rock, shortly coming to rest with a hiss. Bruce vaulted over the three steps leading to the main Bat console. "How bad is it?" He demanded. Alfred shook his head. "It's bad, Master Bruce. The terrorists have seized a quarter of Central City, leaving death and destruction in their wake." Dick and Barbara looked solemn.

"Do we know who the terrorists are?" Bruce inquired. "No, Bruce. The speculation is that it was a homegrown terrorist group. The Department of Domestic Security is running silent as usual." Dick replied. "I have an idea." Barb said worriedly, as she called up her recent data on the Arcanah.

"I was able to warn Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan before the attack. They didn't really have any answers for me. This sect was plotting and storing their weapons in a set of caves in Central Kansas. They also raided three abandoned nuclear missile sites." Barb explained.

Bruce's eyes went wide. "Are we sure that they were abandoned?" Alfred shuddered at the thought. "With the government being typically secretive about everything, I couldn't say for certain." Barb confessed. "They haven't made any demands yet."

_Scene_: Kent Farm

_Dark Hearts_

No sooner had Clark returned from dropping Lois off at the Daily Planet, when his cell phone rang. It was Lois, and she also texted 911, her little code for 'contact me immediately.' Clark called her right back. "Yeah Lois, what's up?" He asked, as he sat in the living room.

"How'd you get back to Smallville so quickly?" Lois grilled. Clark derided himself for being so clumsy. "I know that you never speed." She threw in the dig. "Uh…what do you want…you text messaged 911." Clark ignored her question. "Anyway, flip on your TV." She directed.

Clark punched up the remote. There were aerial photographs of a battle raging within a city. The helicopter was zipping away as fast as it could, fearing a random attack. The reporter was screaming: "Get us out of here, Charlie!" The chopper barely avoided a small rocket explosion near its cockpit.

"What's all this?" He asked her. "Some bizarre terrorist group laid siege to Central City." Lois updated him. "They overwhelmed the police, and the National Guard had to be called in. It seems to be an even match so far. We should get over there!" She urged.

"That would be pointless, Lois. We'd never get close enough to grab the story." Clark was mentally preparing himself for what he might be expected to do. In Earth's past, this particular event had never happened, at least not that he could recall. Had he somehow caused this confrontation? He wondered.

"How could this happen?" Clark continued, shaking his head. "I don't know, which is why I'm asking my father right now, as soon as I get off the line with you. I smell a big government cover up. There's no way in hell that an army of this size could assault a city without anyone knowing about it." Lois said angrily. "Should we contact our own sources, namely Oliver and Marcus Worthington?"

"It can't hurt." Clark agreed. "I'll call Ollie." He volunteered. "Thank you." Lois said sincerely. "See you, Smallville." She hung up. Kara had overheard the conversation, and the TV news story. She stood beside her cousin. "I'll fly over there and check it out." She offered. "Don't try and stop me either!" Kara stated with conviction. "I wouldn't dream of it. Just be careful." Clark grinned thinly.

"You know, Kal, you really need to work on that whole flying thing. It saves a ton of time." She commented. "This may be it, Clark." She began. "The time for us to appear, I mean. John Jonz and everybody else were right. We can't sit on our duffs and not get involved. Especially not with a conflict on this scale." Kara concluded. "When did you become so smart?" He teased her.

"I have a good role model." Kara smiled brightly. "Don't worry! Girl of Steel, remember?" She playfully flexed her muscles. With that, Kara zipped out the door and immediately took to the air. She sailed straight out to Central City, a mere few minute's flight from Smallville.

Kara dove at the rear line of tanks, grabbing one and literally tossing it on its side. Two surprised soldiers clambered out of it, seconds before the gas tank exploded. They were knocked out cold by the force of the blast. The Super Girl systematically grabbed and tossed tank after tank.

Next, she located the armored Humvees, and took a rocket blast full on the chest, wich sent her spiraling into the side of a low rise building. It took her a momet to recover, before she went right back at it. Picking up a Humvee and carrying it over to Central City Lake, where she tossed it to the sea bottom. The soldiers quickly swam out, and she dove into the water, returning them to the surface.

Kara placed two soldiers on the rocky beach. She sensed something odd about them. They sat there with blank expressions on their faces. Their skin color seemed to be off as well. They were pasty white, with Middle Eastern features. Kara x-rayed them and gasped. The men had no hearts!

Horrified, Kara landed in front of them. They continued to stare off into space, as if they hadn't seen her at all. "You! What are you?" She pointed to the nearest one. Silence. She x-rayed them again, this time spending more time checking them out. They weren't human, that much was certain.

The soldiers had a complex set of nerve endings connected to what appeared to her as silicone tubes, like an array of hoses. They had no obvious internal organs. Their brains appeared to be simple looking black control boxes, with some fairly common Earth made circuit boards.

"Biometric organisms?" She asked aloud, completely stunned. "Part human matter, part machine. Similar to Brainiac, but not as complex." Kara muttered, folding her arms. Regardless, they were wreaking havoc on Central City, and Kara had to stop them, and then go after their builders and controllers. She flipped open her cell phone. Kal would have to be informed, she thought.

As soon as Kara speed dialed Clark's phone, the two cloned soldiers exploded, showering her with blood and a foul smelling black liquid. Fearing she would wretch, Kara spun around quickly, which removed the entire residue from her body and clothes. She then left a message for Clark.

_Valkyrie_

Kara, disgusted by what she'd witnessed, once again took to the air. She'd annihilated a third of the attack force before a tall woman, with long blonde hair appeared beside her…flying! "What?" She was so shocked, that Kara almost flew into the side of a billboard.

"Hello little one." The blonde greeted her politely. Kara stopped and hung in midair. "Who…or what exactly are you?" The woman was a good ten years older than Kara by her estimate. She had a stocky face with high cheekbones, and was smiling perversely. "I am Ariana Wulf. You are?"

"Kara Kent. Uh…I guess I don't understand…" She replied. "That's true. You are engaged in a battle that you know nothing about." Ariana said haughtily. "What's to know? Those creatures are attacking innocent people and destroying the city." Kara snapped. "But do you know why?" Ariana asked.

"No! What difference does it make?" Kara argued. "You should always know your enemy before you do battle." Ariana explained calmly. "I'm sorry, they didn't E Mail or text us that they were going to attack! It's nice to meet you, but we're wasting time." Kara said impatiently. "Are you going to help or not?" Ariana shrugged. "Surely. What side are you fighting for?"

Kara's jaw dropped. "The humans, of course." She answered coldly. "So, you're not human?" Ariana countered. "No. Does it matter? Wrong is wrong." Kara retorted. "It's only wrong from your point of view. The opposition believes that they're right." Ariana continued in an annoyingly even tone.

"I'm not going to debate this with you." Kara flew toward the North flank of the advancing army. She banked on a sharp turn and dove directly at the next line of zombie warriors. Fists extended before her, Kara pummeled every soldier in that garrison. She wasn't sure whether they were alive or dead, nor did she care at this point. Ariana flew in the opposite direction, returning shortly.

The unusual being landed in front of Kara, bearing a large golden sword. The Super Girl flew around Ariana and continued to decimate the Army of Darkness. Ariana began to swing the sword at anything that moved. Slicing the zombies into pieces, splattering their vile fluid everywhere.

By now Clark had gotten Kara's message and was about to leave when his super sensitive hearing picked up what sounded like canon fire nearby. He zipped towards the noise, eventually running across a similar army of soldiers, tanks, and armored vehicles…near Reeves Dam!

Gotham City – Barb Gordon fastened metal gauntlets around her forearms. She flexed the titanium ridges, to make sure that they were in proper working order. Next, she waved her titanium battle shield around, getting used to the weight, and how much pressure she needed to exert to block any incoming debris, like shrapnel, or god forbid, armor-piercing bullets.

The shield and gauntlets were custom designed by Wayne Tech, based on the Gotham City Police Department's bulletproof vests. Lucius Fox had made some improvements on their new equipment. Bruce observed his young charges as they examined the new weaponry.

They were so young, Dick and Barbara, he mused. Neither had yet made it out of their teens. He second-guessed his plan."Ready Bruce?" Dick asked anxiously, as he adjusted his leg armor. The twenty-something billionaire cocked his head.

"Where's your Robin outfit?" He asked his ward and longtime friend. "Oh that." Dick shifted uncomfortably as he pulled on his own titanium gauntlets.

"I decided to make some changes." Dick began, catching Barb's interest as well. "I got to thinking, that it was time to bury the past, and mothball my green and yellow getup. It was time I let the ghosts of my family rest in peace. The Robin outfit was mostly to honor them. I decided to go with this darker piece. I prefer to look forward from now on, and forget about the revenge aspect."

"That's very mature of you, Dick." Bruce stifled a chuckle by coughing. "Yes, carousing about the town all night dressed as bats and a bird is very mature." Alfred said with a straight face. The three of them glanced at the manservant and guardian. Suddenly Alfred grinned. He'd caught them off guard with his dry British wit. Bruce shook his finger at him and laughed. "You got us, Alfred!"

"Yes I do. Always." The elder gentleman said seriously. "What do we call you now, Master Dick?" Young Grayson took a deep breath and said: "Nightwing!" Bruce shrugged. "Sounds good to me." Barb couldn't resist teasing her friend and fellow crime-fighter. "This new revelation wouldn't have anything to do with your recent encounter with Kara Kent and Laura Lake, would it?"

"No." Dick dismissed her with a wave. "No, of course not, Richard." Barb needled. "They were kind of cute, Dick, and about your age." Bruce piled on, embarrassing his young protégée. "I suppose they were okay." He downplayed, causing Barb to crack up again.

"We're heading to Central City then?" Dick questioned. "No, actually, we're not." Bruce replied. Barb, Dick, and Alfred gasped. "Why not?" Batgirl was stunned. "Because the Batman would just get in the way. It's too late to stop that insurrection. We'll have to let the proper authorities, like the riot police, National Guard, and any other government agencies that are involved handle it."

"We're heading back to Smallville." Bruce decided. "I'm sure that an army of terrorists that were that organized, have more than one attack planned. I believe that Barb was correct. The Arcanites are behind the assault. We all dropped the ball on that one. Everyone dismissed the Arcanah as just another fringe group. Clearly they're not."

continues in _Insurrection_.


	13. Chapter 13:Insurrection

_Insurrection_:

Features Clark and Lois's first flight, without being 'under the influence'

Scene: Daily Planet

Daddy? What's going on out there?" Lois Lane sat helplessly behind her desk at the Daily Planet. "Now's not a good time, Lo'." Sam Lane growled into her phone. "We got caught with our pants down, is what happened. We spent so much time and money on the international terrorists, that we took our eye off the ball, and ignored domestic terrorists. Someone's going to hang for this."

Lois was near tears. "Is there anything I can do, we can do, to help?" General Lane swore vehemently as another one of his troop carriers burst into flame outside of Central City. He'd been watching the conflict escalate via a remote TV hookup in the Missouri Army Bunker.

"It's bad, Lo'. I'm going to get on the horn with the big guy next. Our Commander in Chief has authorized an air assault on the terrorists' position." Sam was about to say goodbye when something exploded in nearby Kansas City. "Holy crap!" He exclaimed as the ground shook above him.

"Daddy? Are you okay?" Lois was fully in tears now. "Something's up Lo', I have to go. If it hits the fan, you have to stay strong. Find Lucy and take care of her, got it?" At that instant, Clark zipped into the newsroom, hurriedly accelerating his pace over to Lois's cubicle.

"Daddy?" Lois's voice had gone too high. Clark had only caught General Lane's last comment. Static disrupted their communication. There was a muffled explosion in the background. "Bye Lo', love you!" Sam clicked off the phone, as Lois cried openly, putting her head in her hands.

Clark put his arm around her. "Lois, it's okay." He said quietly. Her head snapped up. Clark saw the anger in her eyes. "It is not okay, Clark!" She yelled. "Why does this bad stuff keep happening to us? I have to do something!" Clark had no answer for her. Lois reached into her desk drawer, and pulled out a silver revolver, snapping its safety off.

"Whoa! Put that thing away!" Clark hissed. "How'd you get that piece in here to begin with?" Lois grinned evilly. "Trust me, Smallville, you don't want to know." Clark put his hands up, nervously glancing across the room. "I'm sure that I don't." He retorted. "What're you planning to do?"

Lois placed the revolver carefully in the back waistband of her skirt. "Anything I can, starting with a trip to Kansas City to save my father." She snarled. "Lois, you can't help him. You'll never get within a mile of the place! Besides, didn't he say to watch over Lucy?"

Lois wiped a tear from her cheek, sniffling. "How'd you know that?" She eyed him suspiciously. "Uh…it makes sense that he would say that." Clark responded lamely. "Whatever, Smallville! I just can't sit here while the whole world goes to hell around us. Don't you get it? We were attacked by terrorists, right under our collective noses. This is like 9 11 part two."

Clark gulped. Kara had been right. She'd said that it was time to step up. "Lois, do you trust me?" He asked, nearly pleading with her. "Of course, why?" Lois wondered. He took a deep breath. In the little amount of time since Kara had left the farm, Clark had been practicing.  
It had been a lot harder than he'd imagined. Fortunately, it was like riding a bicycle, one might never forget how, he sighed. Lois had provided him with a new incentive. "Let's go!" He urged. Lois smiled brightly. "Now that's what I'm talking about, Clarkie. Way to step up!"

She led him towards the elevator. The newsroom was mostly empty, and the few reporters that remained had been too busy to pay them any mind. Clark took her by the hand. "No! This way!"

Clark partially dragged Lois towards the supply closet on the eighth floor newsroom. He knew of a window that faced a lower rooftop on the Daily Planet building, which faced LuthorCorp Tower. "What way?" She protested mildly. Clark heard Perry White's office door open.

Clark unceremoniously shoved Lois into the supply closet. "What the hell?" She snapped. "Lois, be quiet!" He ordered. "Huh?" The startled young reporter took his advice upon hearing Perry's approach. Clark slammed the entrance shut, nearly catching Lois's foot in the door.

"Kent! What the Sam Hill are you doing over here? The whole world's going to hell in a handbag. I need my reporters focused…" Perry began an agonizing lecture. "I need to get supplies, chief!" Clark said impatiently. "Okay! Be quick about it!" Perry said as he shook his head and stalked away. Clark shoved Lois further into the supply closet.

"Smallville! This is no time for a romantic encounter, and certainly not in a supply closet!" Lois complained angrily, but kept her voice low. "You said that you'd trust me, right?" Clark reminded her. "Yeah but…" Before she could protest any more, he pushed past her and used his elbow to break the large window. The glass clattered down onto the rooftop below.

The softer shingles muffled the sound. The shards fell harmlessly out of their way, startling a community of pigeons. Clark made sure that all the glass edges were knocked from the window frame. He reached back and pulled Lois atop the windowsill.

Clark held her by the waist like a football, and vaulted high into the air. "Aaaaaah! Kent! Are you insane?" She yelled, closing her eyes. Clark snickered as he sailed over LuthorCorp Tower and flew up, up and away from Metropolis, Lois in tow. "I got you!" He joked. "Who's got you?" Lois countered as she gripped him tightly, and courageously glanced down at the streets far below.

Lois's voice cracked. "Now I know how the blonde felt in King Kong, though I must say that you're a bit cuter than the ape." Clark grinned as he remembered the reality where he'd first rescued Lois from the helicopter accident so many years ago. As different as this Time Shard was, it had definite similarities to earlier events in Superman's life. "Thanks, I think." He quipped.

Lois clung to Clark's shoulder for dear life. "Smallville, slap me and wake me up." She said sarcastically as Oliver's penthouse loomed just below them. "I'm not going to slap you, Lois. This is who I am." Superman defended, gaining a sense of déjà vu.

"Mild mannered farm boy slash wanna bee journalist, Clark Kent…a super man with amazing powers, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound…" Lois continued to tease him. "That's got quite a ring to it. Who'd have thought it? Where's my Clark and what did you do with him?"

Superman laughed heartily. "It's me, Lois, Clark, trust me on that." They soared upwards into a low hanging fog bank above Metropolis Bay. The flight had been fast, and Clark secretly hoped that no one had noticed them. "You're the amazing red and blue blur, aren't you?" Lois smirked.

"Actually, I think that was Kara half the time." Clark confessed. "She never listens to me." He added. "This is what drove Lana nuts, isn't it? You're leading a double life." Lois commented. Superman lost some concentration, and they dropped a few hundred feet. "Whoa! I'm sorry! I won't bring up the L word again!" Lois yelled, clinging tighter to him. "Relax, Lois. Enjoy the ride." Clark joked.

"What do we do now, Smallville?" Lois asked. "We're going to rescue your father, and then we're going to show the terrorists who's boss!" Clark said boldly. Lois was impressed with Clark's determination.

It turned her on. She kissed him on the cheek as they soared over the Kansas farm fields on the way to Missouri. "My own personal superhero!" Lois gushed like a schoolgirl. "Remember Clark, I get the exclusive!"

"I assume the mysterious red and blue blur has an explanation for all this?" She hinted. Clark gave her his best 'innocent' look. "For all what?" Lois pinched him. Naturally, he didn't feel it. "All this defying gravity for instance, that is not normal!" She insisted as Clark laughed.

He banked clumsily, upsetting Lois's balance for a moment. She shrieked. "Hey Smallville! No turbulence please! I don't have an airsick bag." Lois quipped. Clark smiled, though he wasn't as sure of his impending landing as he was of the initial flight. "Normality is highly overrated." He added.

Lois enjoyed this new, more confident, and cocky Clark Kent. This is going to make a great story, she mused silently, in fact, this will make a great career. Back to business at hand, she refocused. Superman began a slow nosedive toward a deserted area outside of Kansas City. The Army missile silo was just ahead, hidden in a simple industrial park.

"Please put your seats in the upright position." Lois joked, but Clark was concentrating intently on his final approach. He wobbled a bit as the flight drew in over a forest ridge and a limestone encrusted hill, roughly eight to nine stories high, with the reddish brown clay of Missouri shown throughout it.

"Uh Lois…I have a confession to make." Clark began warily. "What?" She was all seriousness again. "I've never landed with a passenger before." Lois yelped. "What?" She clambered over him, her hand covering his eyes by accident. "Lois! I can't see! Stop fidgeting!" Clark protested.

Lois scrambled atop Clark's back, straddling him like a horse. She nearly put him in a stranglehold, closing both arms around his throat, simultaneously lowering herself onto his back. "Smallville! I swear if we live through this, I'm going to kill you!" He shook his head, loosening her grip.

"Clark! Tree! For God sakes, pull up!" Lois shouted as he cracked the top branches off a tall oak tree with his knee. This is not going well, he thought silently. I should've practiced more. Clark spotted a slow moving river, which led to a small waterfall. The water cascaded pleasantly over the rocks.

I should have enough time…he mentally measured the distance. "Lois, do you trust me?" She gulped. "Yes, of course, Clark. Quit asking me that." Superman slowed his speed, flying directly over the brook. He followed it out to a deeper point. "You'll be all right Lo' I've seen you swim!"

"Clark Kent! Don't you dare!" Lois yelled above the din of the water bouncing off the rocks. He carefully yanked her off his back, and slowed to nearly a stall speed. "Smallville! No way!" He held her with one arm. She screamed as Clark dropped her into the river. It was deep enough. He saw her resurface a moment later, cursing vehemently.

Superman decided to try and land vertically. He mentally forced himself to change direction in mid air. He focused on the ground below. Clark's feet hit first, digging into the soft muddy riverbank. The landing stuck, but his momentum forced the ground to come up behind him.

He somersaulted forward into the thick foliage, filthy, but undamaged. That wasn't so bad, he observed. Clark quickly righted himself, and dashed back towards the river. He had to reach Lois before she went over the edge of the waterfall. Superman dove into the water ahead of her.

He surfaced a few seconds later, a wet and angry Lois in his arms. "I don't believe you did that!"  
With his superior strength, Clark easily dragged Lois out of the river and onto the shore. Once settled, she slapped his face. Of course it didn't hurt, physically. "What's wrong with you?" She hissed. Clark reddened. "Lois, I'm…" He began. She cut him off by kissing him passionately.

The two of them stood on the riverbank, muddy and sopping wet, in a lengthy clinch. "If you're through fooling around, we still have to rescue my father." Lois said after another lip lock. Amazingly, Lois still had the silver revolver tangled in her skirt waistband.

She pulled it out, snapping off the safety. "Lock and load, Smallville. It's time to kick some ass!" Clark hesitated as Lois took the lead. "Lois, I don't like guns." He said calmly. "I don't either, Smallville. What're we gonna do, spout poetry at the terrorists?" Lois asked, her voice filled with sarcasm. "I'll handle the terrorists." Superman said with conviction.

"Handle them with what? Are you indestructible?" Lois asked skeptically. Clark nodded. "Practically." He replied smugly. "Seriously?" She forced a smile. "Yes Lois, there are very few things that can harm me." Clark enjoyed telling her the truth, but the risk to her was still high.

"I want you to stick close to me. The missile silo is just a quick walk ahead." Clark directed, taking the lead back from her. Lois wouldn't put away the gun, but she took his hand. He secretly admitted that he was enjoying all this excitement. It had been far too long in the other reality, since he'd truly had fun. It didn't hurt that he and Lois were young and reckless and in love again.

Maybe he'd been looking at the whole time shard process wrong, Clark analyzed. His intention was to save Earth's future, by rebuilding its past. Perhaps he could stay here, in this violet shard? Superman mused as they neared the first chicken wire fence surrounding the covert ops base.

He blasted a five-foot wide hole in the fence with his heat vision. "Sweet! That's some serious firepower, Smallville!" Lois exclaimed as it dawned on her. "You're not human?" She had mixed feelings about this new revelation. "No Lois, I'm not. I'm from a planet called Krypton."

"Get out! Pull the other one!" Lois scoffed. Clark found her skepticism refreshing. "How'd you get here, alien boy?" She chuckled as she scrunched between the sides of the chicken wire that he held open for her. "My biological parents sent me here in a spaceship." He explained.

Clark quickly went into the story of Krypton, and how he and Kara had been miraculously spared. Lois had her doubts, but for the moment accepted his bizarre explanation at face value. They found the silo unguarded, definitely a bad sign. "This is too easy." Lois remarked, waving her gun.

"Hold up." Clark stopped her to x-ray the silo and the covert bunker below. He could only make out bits and pieces of the area, due to the thick shielding around it, some of which had to be lead. "What? Did you hear something?" Lois's heart pounded. "No. That's the problem. It's totally silent." He replied, adding: "The missile and all the controls are still in place. No personnel."

"That can't be good, Clark." Lois said tearfully. "The silo is always manned by at least two Special Ops guards, you know, the guys with the missile launch keys." Superman made a decision. "Lois, we have to go down there. I can't see everything." She nodded. "We'll be breaking about a hundred government laws by entering the facility. Oh well, it was a nice career while it lasted." She joked.

Clark tore the thick, heavy, padded door to the facility off its hinges. No alarms sounded. "Nice! Talk about a Man of Steel." Lois praised, as she followed him down the twisting silo steps into the darkness. "No lights either, that's definitely an indication of a problem." She commented.

"The electrical grid is completely off line, Clark!" Lois said, horrified. "Do you know what that means?" Superman shook his head. "The missile silo is unprotected. Literally, anyone could get in here. There are likely a dozen or so silos in the area surrounding the base!"

"This is big!" Lois fussed with her damp skirt pocket, retrieving her cell phone. "I assume this is waterproof." Clark gently took it from her. "Here, let me." He blew the phone and their clothes dry. "Thanks. That's convenient." She remarked. "You don't go around blowing girls' skirts up, do you?"

Clark reddened. "No, not usually." He deadpanned. How could Lois maintain her sense of humor in such a dire circumstance, he wondered silently. "Who would you call?" Superman asked. "I'm going to try my father, again. This is now a matter of national security. Our little breaking and entering stunt is nothing compared to an organized assault by a deadly enemy."

"We have to find someone. This power grid has to come back on." Lois added. Clark continued to survey the silo and its surrounding bunker with his x-ray vision but saw no one. The good thing was that he hadn't found any skeletons of the deceased, yet either.

"Nothing…static." Lois slammed her cell phone shut, and replaced it in her skirt pocket. "Clark, we're on our own here. Someplace in this poor excuse for a gopher hole is an electrical main throw switch. We have to find it and secure the silos. Maybe if we do that, the alarms will sound."

"That's a good thing, because…?" Clark asked. "If we flip the power grid back on, it sends an automated distress signal to the Pentagon." Lois replied. "Honestly, Smallville, what would you do without me?" Clark smirked. "I don't ever want to find out." Lois grinned. "Aww! Thanks!"

"We still have no idea what's going on, and Kara likely has her hands full with the terrorists in Central City." Superman pointed out. "Really! Dad was livid! These terrorists took everyone by surprise, even us. We guessed that the Arcanah were behind this, but we couldn't prove it."

"I suppose if we follow that conduit, we would run into the main switch box eventually." Clark motioned towards the seven layers of rigid conduit pipes that blanketed the ceiling just above them. "You know, for a space alien, you're pretty slick, Smallville." Lois praised, grabbing his arm.  
"Thanks." He grinned thinly. "Actually, I'm very fast." Lois snickered. "Not too fast, I hope." She smiled lustily. "Meaning, I could cover the entire complex in no time." Clark admitted. "I hate to leave you alone though." Lois understood his point. "Go ahead, if you want to. Don't worry about me. I grew up with the army brats. I can take care of myself."

"Are you sure?" Clark double-checked. "Yeah, I'll be fine. It's obvious that no one's home. Plus I have my friend, here." Lois waved the silver gun at him. Clark frowned. "Okay, I promise! I won't shoot to kill unless I have to. Don't be such an old lady!" Lois said playfully.

Clark lingered a moment longer. Lois sighed, and kissed him on the cheek. "Now go!" She slapped him on the ass. Superman zipped through the silo, leaving a choking trail of dust behind him. Lois coughed. "That is something else!" She croaked, continuing on her way to find the electrical main.

Clark zoomed through silo after silo, achieving the same result every time. No personnel, no power, and the missiles, both fake and real, stood motionless, apparently undisturbed. Finally, within the largest bunker, Superman found signs of recent activity.


	14. Chapter 14: Firefight

_Firefight:_

Scene: The missile silo in Missouri outside of Kansas City.

Clark spied about a dozen people, he assumed to be soldiers, huddled around a computer console deep within the bunker. Even with superior eyesight and x-ray vision, Clark had barely seen them. He quickly sped over to the garrison. "Excuse me…" he began as two guards turned their AK-47's on him. "What the hell are you doing down here, boy?" A rather large dark skinned soldier asked.

"This is a restricted area, kid!" Another good-sized brown skinned soldier remarked. The two light skinned soldiers trained their weapons on Clark's head and chest. He noted that the red laser light gun sight beams crisscrossed his whole body. "I know that. I…uh… noticed that the power was off…"

"No one is supposed to know that these missile silos are here." An older gray haired soldier, likely a commander, said. "With all due respect, sir, everyone knows that these are here." Clark defended lamely. "I don't have time to slap you in irons, boy, now get out before I lose my patience." The commander growled.

"What the hell is all the fuss?" An older, cigar-chewing soldier asked. "General, we found a trespasser." The lieutenant replied, ignoring the fact that Clark found them. "A trespasser, eh? Let me look at him." The General had been slightly injured. Dried blood had stuck to his standard uniform. A white and red patch had been haphazardly placed over his left eye.

"Kent? Is that you? Jonathan's boy? The hell are you doing in Missouri, to say nothing of being on a secured government base without permis…no!" The General stopped his conversation abruptly. "Please tell me that my fool daughter, Lois, is not here, dragging you into this mess."

"Yes sir. General Lane? Lois is in the northernmost silo looking for the main power grid switch." Clark answered as the other soldiers muttered. "Kent, walk with me." General Lane gestured for the guards to stand down, and they warily watched as Clark passed them.

"Kent, this situation is equivalent to DEFCON Four." Sam Lane began. "We've had no outside contact since the grid went down. I assume all the missiles are still in place, given that I haven't heard them ignite?" Clark nodded. "Yes sir. With the power off, Lois said that they're vulnerable."

"I could try calling her." Clark offered. "Won't do any good. The cell phone signals don't work down here, even with the power grid down. How did you two get in here?" Sam asked. "The doors were open." Sort of, Clark thought silently. "Terrific! Did you tell anyone you were coming?"

"No sir. Lois was in a hurry to rescue you." Clark commented. "Yeah, that sounds like my Lo' always rushing into things she doesn't understand." Sam grumbled. "Anyway, she's well, I take it?" Clark nodded. "She's doing great, I hope." They walked deeper into the missile silo.

"Frankly Kent, I don't quite know what to do. We followed the bureaucratic protocol to the letter." Sam turned down another walkway. "We were able to change the launch codes at the last moment before the power went out. That means that the missiles are dead in the dirt."

"That's a good thing, right?" Clark attempted to understand the problem. "Yes and no, the launch codes can be overridden by the Pentagon. Also, the terrorists, in theory, could take apart the missile payload and create several dirty bombs. They needn't launch anything. They could simply waltz into the middle of Manhattan, and drop the load. Thousands of people would die."

"Have you seen any terrorists, General lane?" Clark asked, getting a bad feeling about the whole thing. "That's just it, Kent. We haven't seen a one. I've heard no gunfire, in fact, I've heard nothing since the initial explosion. I thought that I might've gone deaf, but no one else heard anything."

"What specifically exploded, sir?" Clark asked patiently. They turned down another winding corridor that Superman assumed led to the other silos. "The bunker above Silo Two." Sam replied. "At first we thought it was an accident. Yet protocol determined that we secure the weapons facilities."

"We came back to the various control centers, and the power was shutting down." Sam explained. "How many soldiers man these silos and the bunkers?" Clark asked. "That's classified, Kent, but I will say that we aren't missing any troops." Sam continued. "That rules out subterfuge."

"If Lois gets the power grid up and running, will that notify the Pentagon that there's a problem?" Clark checked his girlfriend's story. "Yes. They also have to hear from us within fifteen minutes, or they'll begin preparations for a counter strike." Sam answered.

"A counter strike?" He echoed. "Yes son, a full on nuclear strike!" Sam said worriedly. "Nuclear strike? On whom?" Clark was incredulous. "On us, son, on us. The fat cats assume that our facility has been compromised, and that the enemy is in control of the facilities."

"That's insane!" Clark protested. "Yes it is, sometimes. The way the powers that be view it, we're collateral damage. The good of the many outweighs the good of the few, and all that. We know that much going in." Sam continued. "We heard that some terrorists attacked Central City?" Clark asked.

"Yes son. They were well organized and caught the city by surprise. The police were outmatched, and at last report, they'd sent in the National Guard." Sam led him into another silo. "Here's a checkpoint." He indicated an open area near the local missile's control center.

"From here we can contact each other with the walkie-talkies. General Lane to Commander Kreigh, do you copy?" The communication device crackled and sputtered. Sam moved it around the area until he got a choppy signal. "This is General Lane…copy?"

"That sounded like a shout!" Sam exclaimed, drawing his weapon. "Red team! Report!" The General shouted into the walkie-talkie. Silence. "No offense, General Lane, but I can move faster on my own." Clark was about to sprint away. "Kent! Whatever happens, you save my little girl! Got it?"

"Got it!" Clark turned a blind corner and zipped into hyper speed. He reached the soldiers quickly, but not in time to save all of them. Two men were down already. They were pinned down by a group of creepy looking assassins dressed in all black. Clark noted that their weapons were unusual.

The guns the terrorists used were some kind of energy particle blasts, not standard gunpowder and projectile type. Superman vaulted right into the firefight, deflecting the army's bullets off his back and the particle beams off his chest. The beams seemed to have more punch.

Clark felt the energy blasts impacting him, though they were being more of an annoyance than causing him any pain. Unfortunately on human skin they caused severe burns, like being hit with bolts of electricity. Hmmm, electrical based weapons? He considered. That explains a lot.

The weapons must've drained the electrical grid, as the terrorists powered them up. That would account for the slow energy loss before General Lane's men changed the launch codes.

Superman put up both hands, deflecting the bolts of energy back at the terrorists. Several couldn't move out of the way in time and were hit, likely killed. Clark tried not to think about it. After all, the terrorists brought it on themselves. His goal was to confiscate and destroy the new weapons.

"What the hell's that kid doing?" The brown skinned guard shouted as he dodged some stray energy blasts. Clark decided to kill the emergency power lights by melting them with his heat vision. Now everyone was in the dark. The soldiers would take a few moments to switch to their night vision goggles. Superman would use that time to attack the terrorists.

The assault team was relentless, firing randomly in a roughly circular pattern. Clark tracked the blasts of light back to the shooter. He punched one after the other, knocking several out cold instantly. He used his X-ray vision to track the rest. Something was wrong…the terrorists hadn't any major organs within their bodies! What the hell am I fighting? He silently mused.

They're not human, yet not alien. Superman gasped, a collective of mindless soldiers fighting to the death? He was incredulous. How could they be controlled or created in the first place? Clark recalled briefly Lois's encounter with her old friend, Wes. He'd been nearly turned into a mindless zombie.

These beings were still different than that. Wes had a mind. He rebelled against Lex who was undoubtedly pulling the soldier's mental strings. These things hadn't a brain, just a black box for controlling actions and movement. He hesitated briefly, are they alive or dead?

Was Brainiac somehow behind these automatons? Clark focused his gaze on one creature's black box. It carried a label. 'Made in Taiwan'? You've got to be kidding, he thought. They weren't sophisticated enough to be created by Brainiac, which means that a human terrorist had unleashed them. Clones? He decided. Partially designed by someone with a Masters in Biological…

It hit him, Laslow Cur, Biological Science major, and in league with Lex, Rex Rowland, and H.K. Mosuban. It all fit. Clark grabbed the last few clone warriors, and smashed their heads together, essentially killing their motor functions. The energy beams stopped firing.

The lights came back on, as Sam Lane jogged into the central command center. "What the hell happened here?" he shouted. Lieutenant Kreigh responded: "We were ambushed, sir. We lost Tagliano and Smolin. They died honorably, defending our country and helped stop the terrorists from accessing the launch bay command ops, and therefore kept the codes from enemy hands, Sir."

"Captain Sherrow, contact the Pentagon. I'll speak to the Commander in Chief personally." Sam ordered as the subordinate complied. Clark made it a point to examine every soldier left. Fortunately, they were all human. That still didn't rule out any collusion with the enemy, Superman observed, but that was a matter for the Army now. There probably wouldn't be any evidence anyway.

"General Lane…a moment." Clark requested as Lois came storming in waving her silver revolver. "Freeze! All of you!" She ordered without thinking. "Oh. I see you handled it, Clark." She said sheepishly as she glanced around the room at the pile of bodies.

"Lo' what in the name of…?" Sam grimaced as his daughter approached, cautiously stepping over the downed terrorists. "Daddy? I see you're all right." She remarked. Just to be safe, Clark x-rayed her, and yes, it was his Lois, none the worse for wear.

"I see you got the power grid back on line." Clark commented as Lois hugged her father, nodding. The soldier that had seen Clark jump into the middle of the firefight eyed him up and down.

Lois and the General were done hugging. "Soldier, is there a problem?" Sam snapped as he watched the subordinate close in on Clark. "Permission to speak freely sir?" Sergeant Vasquez asked. "Granted." Sam replied as Lois hugged Clark, embarrassing him.

"Sir, with all due respect, sir. This civilian jumped into the middle of a live firefight without a weapon. Frankly sir, he should be full of holes like a six foot something chunk of Swiss cheese." Vasquez stood at attention. Clark stifled a snicker, as did Lois.

"Are you complaining, Sergeant? Perhaps you'd like me to Court Marshal him?" Sam lit a new cigar. "Sir, no sir!" Vasquez responded. "If more civilians got involved in protecting their country, all of our jobs would be a lot easier." Sam defended, bringing a proud smile to Lois's face.

"Dismissed, Sergeant." Sam ordered. "Sir, yes sir!" Vasquez said as he returned to monitoring the communications console that had just come on line. "General, do you have a secured conference room available?" Clark asked politely. "Sure, Kent. Lt. Kreigh, has the Pentagon confirmed a draw down?" Sam asked. "Yes sir." Kreigh replied. "Fan freakin' tastic!" Sam smiled broadly.

"Captain Sherrow, send all troops back to their positions. Let's get these birds' cages locked up." Sam ordered. "Lt. Shaw, take the surviving prisoners to the lock up. Special Ops brass will be here soon to interrogate them. Lt. Johansen, accompany him. Don't be exceedingly gentle with 'em either!"

Clark flushed. "What's up, Smallville? You look like you've seen a ghost." Lois asked as she rubbed his back. "I might have." He replied menacingly. "Lo' and Kent, front and center. We need to keep our debriefing short. Let's move." Sam bellowed, as Lois and Clark followed in lock step.

"Why do I feel like I've just been drafted?" Clark quipped as Lois smiled brightly. "That's life with the General. Buck up!" She teased. Apparently Lois was still in shock, seemingly undeterred by the fact that she was falling in love with an alien from another world.

Sam Lane kicked open the conference room door, and secured it behind them. "What's going on, Lo'? We're fully in crisis mode." He questioned his daughter. "General Lane, I have information on our enemies." Clark began officially, startling Lois with his candor.

"Really? Kent, you are amazing!" He praised. "You have no idea." Lois murmured. "What's that, Lo'?" She reddened. "Nothing, carry on!" Clark took a deep breath, and quickly went into his explanation and theories.

"That's fascinating, Kent. I knew there was something odd about you." Sam analyzed. "Daddy!" Lois flushed. "What I mean, Sir, is that this enemy is not entirely human. When your officials examine the bodies more closely, this will all bear out." Clark concluded. Lois's eyes widened.  
"You're sure, Kent?" Sam asked. "Absolutely. I have no proof as to who's responsible, or who's controlling the warrior zombies, but there is no question." Sam Lane lit yet another cigar, as Clark brushed the smoke away from his nose. Lois sat nearby, silently stunned.

"Listen Lo', Clark, what I'm about to tell you does not leave this room." Sam lowered his voice menacingly. "All of those horror stories I told Lois as a child are true. Governments have been experimenting with zombie type armies for years. This, however, is way out of bounds."

"Most zombie armies were to be controlled by mind altering drugs, or intense brainwashing. The Nazis first experimented with genetically enhanced warriors in the 1940's."

"Hitler's race of Supermen." He stopped to let that sink in. "Damned if Hitler nearly pulled it off, too. That was before my time, but the Lanes have been in the Armed Services since World War I."

"Grandpa knew?" Lois shuddered. "Sure he did, Lo'. He'd seen some of America's attempts at a single- minded army. We never could pull the trigger on that one. The powers that be at the time tossed the genetic supermen project on the backburner after they developed the Atomic Bomb."

"The next big thing in warfare was jet propulsion, then supersonic fighters, the stealth initiative, the portable nuke, and believe it or not, spaceships." Sam said seriously. "That's right Lo' and Clark. We built some of those UFO's everyone was seeing throughout the fifties and into the late sixties."

"The Russians have them, so do the Chinese, and our pals, the Brits. The problem has been that the UFO projects tend to be expensive, and don't lend themselves easily to mass production. I heard that they actually got the one in Roswell to work."

"The next big thing is supposed to be our drones, the unmanned fighters that buzz the Middle East frequently. No one had been developing genetic supermen. We were most likely going to go with a droid army. Keep our troops at home, or on the bases with a joystick. That's the future of warfare for the U.S." Sam concluded as Lois whistled.

"So whoever built these zombies would be part of some rogue element." Clark assumed. "That'd be my guess, Clark." Sam confirmed. "I have to insist that you two keep this under your hats. Take it to your graves if you have to. We appreciate your help, Clark, however you managed to keep from being turned into Vasquez's Swiss cheese. Leave the fighting to the professionals."

"You're both over twenty-one now. Go home, get drunk, party with your friends, watch those insipid rock videos. Enjoy your lives. It's our job to keep you safe, though we all seemed to have dropped the ball with these zombie freaks. Rest assured the NSA and Black Ops will order a full investigation once we quell the unrest." Sam was dismissing them.

_Battle On:_


	15. Chapter 15: Rise of The Arcacah

**Time Shards 2: **_Violet Shard_

**Arcanah**: Derived from Arcane, or mysterious and misunderstood.

**Paradox**: _Situation that seems absurd or contradictory_.

Chapter 5: Rise of the Arcanah

Lois and Clark headed back through the maze of missile silos, comforted that not only they'd saved some lives, but that the security systems were back on line. Lois reached the original ladder that they'd climbed down first, Clark at her heel.

"Lois! Maybe you'd better let me go take a look around. We don't know that the terrorists have all been captured or killed yet." Clark offered. "Relax, Smallville, I'm fine." Lois climbed out over the top of the silo hatch and warily glanced around. "Quiet as a mouse up here, Clark." She commented.

He zipped out behind her. As soon as they had cleared the silo, both of their cell phones rang, alerting them of urgent messages. "Hello?" Lois flipped the phone on. Clark had turned away from her, more from habit, than concern for his secret conversations. All that was about to change anyway.

"Really?" Lois sounded worried. "They surfaced near Metropolis as well?" Clark had his own scary conversation going. "Chloe? Yes I saw that Central City had been attacked…Kara's there." He said, and went deadly silent. "What? That can't be. I'm here near Kansas City with Lois."

"I'm serious, Clark!" Chloe's panicked voice came across the phone. "You are in Central City fighting the Arcannah!" Clark gasped. "That's impossible, Chloe. Even I can't be in two places at once." Chloe insisted. "Maybe Bizarro has returned. Either way, you're there. I just talked to you on the phone." Clark shook his head. "Someone's impersonating me." He clicked off the phone.

Lois's discussion hadn't gone much better. "Jimmy! Chill! We're on the way back to Metropolis as we speak. Yes, Clark is with me. I'm sure that Perry's livid. Don't worry! Tell him that I paid for the trip to KC out of my own pocket. The paper's not involved."

"No I'm not giving you any details!" Lois snapped. "We broke about a thousand rules as it is to get here. I'll explain later! Lois out!" She and Clark turned toward each other simultaneously saying: "We have to go!" Lois quickly approached Clark and extended her arms.

"Come on, Smallville! Time's a wasting! Clark Kent airlines now boarding!" Lois smiled brightly. Clark snickered. "After that last flight, are you sure?" he quipped. "Hey Smallville, it took the Wright Brothers how many chances before they finally got their bird up in the air? Practice makes perfect." Lois flirted heavily.

Just then, three black helicopters began to enter the area. "We'd better hustle, Clark. Here comes your government dollars in action!" She pointed at the approaching aircraft. "Remember our first North by Northwest event? I'd rather not repeat it."

"You're right." Clark said as he picked her up, cradling her in his arms. "Of course I am." Lois joked, kissing him on the cheek. "Come on, up, up, and away!" She urged, pulling a compass out of her waist attached purse. "What's that for? I can find our way back to Metropolis." Clark asked.  
"That's not the point, sweetie. We should circle away from the black helicopter crowd, unless you want to stick around and answer a bunch of embarrassing questions." Lois added. "We can mask your trail by flying low to the ground, below the chopper's radar."

"What would I do without you?" Clark smiled. "Let's hope you never find out!" She turned the phrase back on him that they'd discussed earlier. He started running, and pushed off of a downed tree trunk, soaring just above the hilly area, and diving low into a valley. They skirted the helicopters as they began landing. General Lane had ordered dozens of troops to saturate the missile silo grounds.

Clark flew back towards Kansas, wondering exactly what had happened in Central City, and why Chloe thought she was talking to his doppelganger.

Clark and Lois arrived near the Smallville town limits shortly thereafter. "Ready for another crash landing?" He asked her half seriously. "Smallville, you really need to work on your transportation ability. Please don't drop me in the drink this time. Metropolis Bay is cold at this time of year."

"Would you settle for a nice warm roll in the hay?" Clark quipped. "Excuse me?" Lois smirked lustily. "Lois…" He stared deeply into her eyes. "Yes?" She asked hopefully. "Duck!" Clark ordered playfully. "What?" She asked, in shock.

Clark pulled her head down below the solid oak wooden framed window in his barn loft hideaway. He flew inside the barn, dropping Lois into a large bed of hay just outside the horse and cattle stalls. She landed softly, with a minor thud.

"That's some improvement at least." Lois grumbled, as she picked strands of straw out of her hair, clothes, and purse straps. Clark landed less gracefully on the hardwood floor, sliding into the side of the barn, and knocking out a dozen or so slats of wood from the barn's frame.

Clark sat there dazed. It was as if his overall power had been diminished slightly, but there certainly wasn't any stray kryptonite around. This felt different, like he'd begun getting tired. He vaguely remembered what it felt like to be human or nearly so.

As he stood up, he glanced at Lois, and his eyes flared yellow. He had trained his mind to relax when that happened, and took a moment to get it together. "Care to join me, Smallville?" She flirtatiously patted the large lump of hay immediately next to her. "I'd like to…but…" He hesitated. "I know. We have to help Kara and save the world, yada, yada, yada…" Lois finished his sentence.

Clark walked over to her and extended a hand, hoisting Lois up. She couldn't resist giving him another peck on the cheek. "What is it with me and self-sacrificing guys out to save the world?" She quipped. "We'd better get to Metropolis before the Arcanah cause any more destruction." Clark urged. Lois's phone rang, and it was Chloe again. "Yeah, he's right here, cuz."

Lois was about to hand Clark the cell phone, when he suddenly went pale, and fell to the ground like a ton of bricks. "Smallville?" Lois asked, in shock. "Chloe, get over here, Clark just fainted or something!" Lois bent down and picked his head up. His eyes fluttered briefly.

"What? No, there aren't any green meteor rocks in the area! What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Lois was panicking. "Clark? Chloe, he's burning up. Maybe I wore him out." She guessed, startling her younger cousin. "Wore him out, doing what, or should I ask?"

"We were just rolling around in the hay, and he was fine." Lois said before she'd thought it through. "Ignoring that disturbing imagery, I can't help. The damn Arcanah death squads have this part of the city sealed off. The Metropolis Police and the National Guard are battling them, but I've no idea who's winning." Chloe hid beneath a desk in the secret room of the Isis Foundation.

"Lois, call Oliver! Maybe he can help!" Chloe suggested as a rocket soared overhead, impacting the building behind the foundation. "Oliver? He could be ten thousand miles away as far as we know!" Lois countered. "I don't know what to tell you Lo', I've got to get moving! I'm a sitting duck up here! Take Clark in the house, and throw some cold water on him, whatever! I'll try later!"

Lois's phone clicked off, as she tried to scoop Clark up off the ground. "Geez Smallville, you need to lay off those fresh beef burgers or something!" Lois groused as she physically began to drag Clark across the barnyard towards the farmhouse. His eyes were open, but he stared at her vacantly.

"Don't you die on me, Smallville!" Lois said tearfully as she hauled him up the front stairs. Kicking in the door, Lois dragged him into the kitchen before exhaustion set in. She fell backwards onto a chair, and then got up quickly, grabbing a large pot and filling full of cold water. Lois was crying as she took a fresh washcloth and began wiping Clark's face, cradling his head in her lap.

_Rise of the Arcanah: cont'd_

_Reeves Dam:_

Clark felt tired and weak as he crossed the edge of the riverbank. He worriedly checked the grassy knoll, the foliage, and sandy grounds for any kryptonite. He hadn't seen any, but there had to be some explanation for his lethargy. Clark didn't feel nauseous, in pain, or dizzy. What was wrong?

His musings were cut short as he spied a sleek black helicopter strafing a row of armored vehicles. There looked to be a war going on! Clark sped up to about half speed, and stumbled across a ridge. He still felt like something was missing…had he forgotten something…or someone?

Clark bolted towards the melee, faltering slightly as he slipped into a low-lying ravine. "Kent! Get a move on!" A dark figure urged from just above his position. "Who?" Clark began, suddenly aware that a young woman was at his side. "Clark? Are you okay?" She asked, as her long red hair flowed beneath a cowl and cape. A third shadowy figure hushed them. "Quiet!" He grasped a black device.

A young man dressed in a dark blue and black outfit hurled the fist-sized device under a green battle tank across from them on a pockmarked road. The device exploded, flipping the tank on its side. Two skinny men crawled out from the tank's hatch, and suddenly went motionless, falling to the ground.

The older man glanced at them with concern. "Nightwing? What did you hit them with?" Batman asked. "Just a simple, but powerful stun grenade. They're mostly harmless. The soldiers shouldn't have been injured at all, especially since they were protected inside the tank cabin."

"I wish we had time to investigate." Batgirl called from Clark's side. "Me too, Barb." Dick Grayson said, forgetting that they were only supposed to use their crime-fighter names. The name Barb briefly rang a bell with Clark, though he still couldn't get his head around what was happening.

"Kent, follow me!" Batman ordered. "We need to flank the Arcanah watchmen, and get inside their circle of control. The local police, National Guard, and volunteer militiamen soldiers can't handle the Arcanah attack alone. It's still a few miles until they encounter the Metropolis Police Department."

Clark recognized the words and phrasing, but still wasn't sure how he'd gotten here. A new sound distracted him further. The concussion grenades had been launched by some National Guard troops at the advancing Arcanah garrison. Many of the Arcanites fell into the muddy glen. None of their garrison mates even stopped to help them up, or check for injuries.

"I don't get it, Bruce." Dick began. "It's like the Arcanites don't care. They're just mindlessly advancing on the militiamen, and local police. None of those warriors were casualties. They just got stuck in the mud bog." The Batman's eyes widened beneath his cowl mask.

"You might be onto something, Dick." Bruce added. "I need to double back and examine one or two of the fallen Arcanites." Barb stood up, having been crouching beside a mystified Clark. "I'll go with you, as back up." She offered. "No, you and Dick…watch Kent…something's not right." The Batman cast a sidelong glance at Clark, who still seemed groggy and not alert.

Scene: _Outside of a valley near Reeves Dam_:

"Kent! Get your head in the game!" A gruff male voice yelled from behind him. A guy in a dark, oddly shaped armored suit flanked him, and a woman in a black leather, oddly created outfit was ahead of him. Something whistled over them, impacting a small hill, resulting in a fiery explosion.

"What the hell?" Clark grumbled. He felt odd, out of sorts, like he didn't belong here. The two people nearest to him had black masks, shaped like... a bat's ears? A third guy in a navy blue and black outfit with a strange black mask across his eyes joined them. "What are we doing, having tea?" He snapped, as his shoulder length black hair blew over his eyes.

"If you have any brilliant ideas Kent, now's the time!" The first guy said, diving away from a spray of shrapnel. They were pinned down by weapons fire, Clark figured that much out. These weapons seemed different, though. The explosions didn't smell of gunpowder, as one might imagine.

The woman had frozen in her tracks, trying to determine from which direction the next attack would come. She looked back over her slim shoulder at him as if waiting for orders. Clark rushed past her and popped his head up above the ridgeline. "What's he doing?" The younger man asked over the din. The older man shrugged. "Trying to get himself killed?"

Clark assessed the situation. Several light armor vehicles were crisscrossed around their savanna, which to him looked like it was in Bretner Woods near Reeves Dam. At the center of the melee stood a familiar looking spaceship about the dimension of a mid-sized automobile. Kara's ship! Kal gasped.

Suddenly, the armored vehicles, which bore no markings, and were all painted black and green, started exploding one by one. Guns silenced, as the foot soldiers died in screaming agony. The blasts had come from above.

They seemed suspiciously like heat vision or laser vision attacks. "Kara! No!" Clark yelled. "Kent! Get down before they blow your head off!" The bat guy ordered. Sailing overhead were two girls, swooping low enough to destroy the vehicles, and kill the men.

Clark vaulted out of the ravine and landed solidly on the riverbank, and zipped off towards the approaching army. "Great! Every man for themselves!" The young costumed man said. "Does that include women, too?" The disguised female said.

"Come on, Barb!" Nightwing ordered. "Kent's flipped. He got us into this mess, and now he left us behind." Batman leapt over a rock formation, landing beside the two teenagers. "Let's stick to the plan. We still don't know exactly what we're up against. Kent's on his own." Bruce grumbled.

Back on the Kent Farm, Lois sobbed, holding Clark's head in her hands. She listened for a heartbeat a moment ago, and heard some, though the beats were weak and muffled. Clark's eyes were open, but it was like he'd gone catatonic.

Unsure of what to do, she tried Chloe, Oliver, and Kara's cell phones again. It's not as if I could take him to Smallville Medical, she mused. Lois doubted if they had an alien physiology expert on the staff. If he didn't snap out of it…just then her phone rang.

It was Chloe, apparently safe for the moment. "Chlo' thank god!" Lois cried into the phone. "He's not moving…Clark's not dead…but not responsive either." Chloe took a deep breath, as the smoke from a nearby fire infiltrated her lungs. "Lois…I'm trying to get out of Metropolis…"

Her phone cut out briefly, and reconnected. "If I don't make it…you have to take Clark to see Dr. Emil…Hamilton." Chloe coughed and sputtered, as she rolled away from falling debris. "Who?" Lois repeated in a panic. "Dr. Emil Hamilton…got it?" Chloe dove forward into a stairwell, just as an I-beam cracked, spilling smoldering wires, flaming ceiling tiles, and sooty dust behind her.

Chloe jogged down the stairs from the Isis Foundation archive room. "Lois?" She yelled. Silence. "Chloe?" Lois wiped another tear from her eye as her mascara burned it. "Damn It!" She cursed vehemently, grabbing her laptop, and checking the database for Hamilton's name and office.

_Rise of the Arcanah_:

Chapter 6: Passionate

Scene: Kent Farmhouse:

"You will not find the answers you seek in the computer, Lois Lane." A deep male voice said from the doorway. "What?" Lois slammed her laptop shut and whirled to face the intruder, striking an attack pose. A tall, olive skinned man, with recessed dark eyes, high cheekbones, and dressed oddly in a white and gold loosely fitting tunic, stood before her, smiling warmly.

"Watch it, Mac!" Lois hissed. "This is so not the day to mess with me!" She advanced on the stranger. "What the hell do you want? Can't you see that my friend is injured?" Lois circled nearer casually grabbing a steak knife from the kitchen sink, as she twirled; hiding it behind her back, and using a martial arts move to slide over the kitchen tabletop. Her knife was at his throat.

"That's a great move, Miss Lane." The deep tone of his voice was unflappable. "Yeah, you'll find that I'm full of surprises." She menaced. "You have two choices, pal. Turn your ass around and get out of here, or I drag you out minus a few of your favorite body parts!"

"By the way, I've had a really bad day, I'm caffeine deprived, and my nerves are shot." Lois warned, keeping an even tone. "Don't piss me off!" The man grinned. "You would sacrifice yourself for Clark Kent, here? I'm impressed, Miss Lane. How long have you been in love with him?"

"Who are you?" Lois was puzzled, but kept the knife at the visitor's throat. "A friend." He replied calmly. "A friend, eh? I admit that I don't know all of Clark's acquaintances, but somehow I doubt that you're one of the neighbors looking to borrow a cup of sugar." Lois relaxed slightly.

"You are quite right, Miss Lane." The man continued. "I'm not from around here. However, I'm not the issue, Clark is." Lois was about to slice his throat, but she forced herself to remain calm. Okay, this is weird, but daddy always said to remain focused in the middle of a confrontation, she thought.

"Okay chief, start talking, and make it quick. I don't know how much time Clark has left." Lois challenged. "Clark is suffering from tachyon distortion syndrome." The stranger said casually. "What? I've never heard of that one." Lois commented, relaxing her grip on the knife. "It's quite rare. In fact, I've never encountered a case of TDS in my long life." The guy stalled.

"How do you know that's what it is, genius?" Lois suddenly felt sleepy, yawning. In a high-speed move, the character grabbed Lois's wrist, making her drop the knife, and he helped her sink to the floor. The invader had used Lois's stressed mind against her, putting her to sleep.

Lois lay on the floor snoozing contentedly. "Come on Kal El, we have very little time!" John Jonz materialized in his regular Martian greenish brown form. He picked Clark up and zipped out the front door, taking immediate flight. He'd recovered his powers in the nick of time.


	16. Chapter 16: Priestess Janai

_PG-13 - mild violence_

_Back at the melee outside of Metropolis_:

"Please tell me that you're seeing that, Bruce." Dick pointed towards Kara and Ariana as they soared above the Arcanan Army of Darkness. Kara began blasting tanks, Humvees, and foot soldiers with her heat vision. Ariana, on the other hand, fired small, orange, flaming balls of energy at them.

"I hope they're on our side." Barb commented. "Have you seen Kent?" Batman asked with irritation. "Nope. He super sped away, just as we came over that ridge. I haven't seen him since." Batgirl replied. "The latest from Central City is that they've fought to a draw." Dick informed them, adjusting his bat shaped hands free cell phone, which wrapped tightly around one ear.

Batman gulped. "Barb, did you say that Kent super sped away?" Batgirl nodded. "You mean like, faster than a human?" Dick gasped. "Yeah. He was there one minute, gone the next." Barb added. Bruce shook his head. "What the hell have we gotten ourselves into, here?"

"Do we know if Clark is actually working for the Arcanah?" Dick posed. "No! I find that hard to believe." Barb defended anxiously. "Why would he even involve us, if he was siding with the terrorists?" Bruce agreed. "Let's not jump at shadows." He urged his young charges.

"This attack makes very little sense." Batman brought up as the three of them hid behind a partially burned out Humvee. "As powerful as the Arcanah are, they should know that they can't defeat America, or even an entire city or state. American Forces could swat them all like mayflies." Barb commented. "Unless victory isn't their goal." Bruce reasoned.

"What? You mean this could all be a distraction?" Dick sharply caught onto Bruce's train of thought. "Exactly, Dick. When the front door is opened, keep your eye on the back door." Batman glanced up at Kara and Ariana sailing along, knocking down Arcanites left and right.

"What do you make of them?" Barb inquired. "I'm not sure who or what they are." Bruce answered. "At the moment, they're taking down the Arcanah. We should all be thankful for that." Dick nodded, gesturing towards Kara as she blasted two tanks right off the hillside with her heat vision. "That's some serious firepower for a young girl. I don't like the feel of all this, Bruce." Nightwing commented.

"We've fought enemies in the past that appeared to have no logical basis for their attacks." Barb remarked. "True, but most of them were obviously psychopaths, predominantly human, and criminally insane." Bruce added. "Dick, you're going to like this even less…I think that we, Kent, and the local authorities have all been set up by the Arcanites."

"To what end?" Dick asked. Bruce shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've got a few theories, none of them good, and every one progressively worse than the other." Barb suddenly vaulted backwards, instinctively using her gymnastic expertise to flip onto a large, flat, rock. "What the…?" Dick began.

Kara Kent had flown down behind them, landing softly on a pile of fallen twigs and leaves. "Whoa!" Dick said, as he reflexively reached for a Batarang. "I wouldn't." Kara warned as her eyes narrowed.  
"I've been watching you three skulk around the battle zone all afternoon. What's your purpose here? Keep in mind that my patience is limited." Kara menaced.

Ariana swooped down catching Bruce by surprise, not an easy thing to do. She waved a large silver and gold sword with a golden, jeweled hilt, in his face. "You are not Arcanan." She accused flatly. "No, we're not." Bruce gulped, silently and smoothly pressing a button on his utility belt.

"Now, let's not lose our heads." Dick said playfully to Ariana. "That is entirely up to you." She countered, as the golden sword reflected the sunlight brilliantly. "I haven't much time for pleasantries." The strange warrior woman said. "Answer Kara's question, or face the consequences."

"We're here to back the humans." Barb blurted out, as Kara yanked her by the ankle off of the rock with one hand. Dick gulped, feeling helpless. "So you've discovered as I have that the Arcanites are not human, at least not entirely." Kara placed Barb down beside her, carefully.

"We'd had our suspicions." Bruce added. "Neither are you, Kara. That would be Kara Kent, I take it?" The teen alien beauty nodded. "That also means that Clark isn't…" Barb began before Kara squeezed her throat and lifted her up off the ground. "Where is my cousin?" Kara snarled.

"Put her down!" Clark ordered, arriving in the nick of time, though he seemed pale and slightly winded. "Kal! You look terrible!" Kara observed. "I've been better." Clark admitted. Bruce had ordered the sonic Bat plane to strike their position with some paralysis missiles. Obviously, he determined that they'd have no effect on the super powered beings that they now faced.

Batman pressed another button on the belt, canceling the strike order and putting the plane into stand by mode. "Kent! I assume you have some explanation for all this?" Bruce scowled. "Mostly, except for you." He motioned towards Ariana. "I am Ariana, Val Kyrie of the Third Order."

"Great!" Barb snapped. "What you children do not understand is that the enemy you fight is not from this plane." Ariana continued. "This plane?" Batman parroted. "Yes, Dark Knight." Ariana confirmed. "The leader of the Arcanah is not from this plane of existence, yet here he or she is."

Chills involuntarily ran up and down Barb's spine, as Kara and Clark looked at Ariana with confusion. "I see by your expressions that you are unfamiliar with your own history." Ariana tried to explain quickly. "Every one thousand years or so, a powerful Arcanite is born. This Arcan possesses the ability to animate the dead, create substance from nothing, or nearly nothing."

"You're talking about sorcery, alchemy, or the dark arts." Bruce added. "I've studied many cultures based on mysticism." Ariana nodded. "Correct, Dark Knight." Barb gulped, as Dick nervously brushed his long black hair from over his eyes. "That makes the Joker, Riddler, and Penguin look lame by comparison." Batgirl remarked. "Comparing apples and oranges, Barb." Bruce commented.

"I don't understand." Kara complained. "There is much you don't know, little one." Ariana said in a motherly voice. "Many realms of existence mirror your own, time travel, alternate galaxies, and parallel dimensions." She informed them. "There is far too much to cover in the little bit of time that we have here."

Clark had been silent, but based on his own limited experience with magical creatures like Kyla the Skinwalker, to the body-snatching witch, Isobel, and her friends, both of which ended badly for all parties involved, he had no reason to doubt Ariana's statement. "Given all that, how was the Arcanite leader able to enter our dimension?" He asked.

"Simply put, Angel Warrior, someone with powerful magical abilities allowed he or she to enter the human world." Ariana addressed Clark strangely. "What do we do about it?" Dick asked worriedly. "We fight on!" Ariana said, vaulting high into the air, and over the ravine, summarily slicing a dozen more Arcanah soldiers to ribbons, before taking once again to the air.

"The soldiers are not human." Clark pointed out. "Certainly not entirely. The best comparison I could come up with, was mindless zombies. They fight without regret, remorse, or concern. I detest killing anything or anyone, but I don't see that we have any other options."

"Agreed." Batman said curtly. "We really don't know anything about you and Kara, Clark." The young alien brushed him off. "Trust me, Mr. Wayne." Clark narrowed his eyes. "The less you know about us for now, the better. Just be assured that we're on the same side."

"Fair enough!" Bruce snapped, angry that somehow his secret identity had been revealed to Clark. A zombie warrior grabbed Clark by the throat from behind, which surprised him momentarily. The real shock was that the zombie's grip on him was difficult to shake off.

Kara blasted the attacking creature into smoldering dust with her heat vision. Dick whistled. "Remind me never to piss you off." He commented to the alien beauty. "Kal, why aren't you fighting with all of your powers?" She asked, making him wince. Now Barb, Bruce, and Dick knew his birthright name. "I don't know, Kara. It's like I only have half of my abilities." Clark sighed tiredly.

"Kal?" Barb echoed. "It's a long story. For now, call it my nickname." He responded after catching his breath and bending over. Batgirl was nearly in tears, but she dare show no weakness in front of her mentor and friends. Tenderly, she put her slim shoulder under Clark's arm, and helped him up out of the ravine. Dick and Bruce watched with concern, but they had no more time for debate.

Another garrison of warrior zombies encircled them. Kara rose high into the sky, and blasted them all into smoldering ashes. Even Bruce was intimidated by the super powered alien teen. Clark was concerned that his young cousin had gotten used to killing. He would have a talk with her later.

_The battle rages on_:

"She's definitely something else!" Dick said with admiration, as Kara flew off to continue her mayhem. "Kent, what's your take on the Arcanah uprising?" Bruce asked with a hint of anger in his deep voice. Clark had gotten his wind back, but still something was missing…

Ariana flew in the opposite direction of Kara, presumably to attack another wing of the advancing Army of Darkness. Clark watched her go and shrugged. "I think there's more to all of this than we're seeing. How was the Arcanah Army able to pop up right in the middle of our country?"

"Could it have been an inside job?" Barb speculated. "Meaning, is there an American government higher up that buried the details on the Arcanah activity?" Dick added, for once being on the same page with Barb. Bruce noted that they were starting to think and act like a team.

"I'd say that's very likely." Clark said, as he inhaled deeply. "I know for a fact that a number of clandestine projects have been going on in and around Metropolis, and likely the entire Midwest." Bruce nodded, scowling slightly. "We're in over our heads, Kent."

As if on cue, several zombie-like Arcanites quickly surrounded them. Bruce got a good look at one unfortunate soul, whose eyes were hollow and lifeless. His face was gaunt and his eye sockets dark. "Excuse me, what's your name?" The Batman tested the ghoul. It just stared straight ahead, groping aimlessly with its thin fingers. "He doesn't know." Barb said tearfully.

Bruce sadly punched the creature in the face with his gauntleted glove. It fell over and lay motionless, as another ghoul stepped on him and advanced on the group. Clark physically tossed several Arcanites across the ridge. They landed in a heap, and none of the others paid any attention to them.

"At least they're easy to defeat." Dick muttered as he readied a few of his new martial arts moves. Robin / Nightwing swung low, kicking the nearest one's feet out from under him. Like lemmings, the other ghouls tripped and fell over the leader, mindlessly following the flow of the battle.

Dick quickly turned on the two Arcanite soldiers behind him, knocking each out of the fray with some standard Kung Fu moves, flat palming them in their chests. As quick as Nightwing was, an experienced fighter would have easily been able to block his assault. Continuing his moves, Robin worked his way through the remaining ghouls, combining Karate and Tae Kwan Do attacks.

"This is too easy." Clark observed, effortlessly tossing a few more creeps into the creek below them. The creatures floated away like rotted tree limbs, making no effort to swim or stay above water. "I agree." Batman growled, kicking two more goons out of the way like old footballs.

Barb was practicing her moves on the zombies as well. The athletic Batgirl used a combination of standard martial arts moves, most of which she learned from sparring with Bruce and Dick over the last couple of years. Slight of frame, Barb was lightning-quick with her shoves and kicks. The young Batgirl easily defeated a half dozen Arcanites in no time.

"I think that we're wasting our time." Batman grumbled. "Someone's wasting our time." Clark glanced around, trying to pick out a possible leader of the zombie-like Arcanites. Nightwing threw a few more goons across the hedges and into the roughage along the river.

Batgirl stuck close to Clark, unsure of what to make of the super powered alien. On one hand she was disappointed that the pleasant warrior wasn't human, on the other, she was glad that he came along, helping them to defeat the Army of Darkness.

"There!" Clark suddenly pointed towards a pretty young woman, and two very human guards, who seemed to be uninvolved in the melee. The three of them watched with disinterest from atop a grassy hill. "I'd bet that those three are the leaders." Bruce followed Clark's gaze.

"Let's surround them. Maybe then we'll get some answers." Batman weighed a couple of formations in his extremely logical head. "Barb, you and Dick take the Batcycles and circle around that hilltop, keeping on the north side of the battle. I'll head straight for them, and Kent, you can cover their retreat. I assume that you can move faster than they can."

Clark nodded, searching the skies for Kara and Ariana. Neither was visible at the moment. It seemed to him that his usually enhanced vision was severely limited, like he'd been partially blinded. He shook it off and zipped behind the three Arcanah controllers.

Barb and Dick had grabbed the Batcycles and whirred around the battle, skirting the incessant Arcanite bodies that fell beside the hilly road. Barb took a moment to wipe a tear from her eyes. This is so horrible, she thought distractedly. I'd rather be facing the Joker than these zombie freaks.

Nightwing led the way, occasionally yanking the front wheel of his Batcycle up off the ground, and over some stray Arcanite bodies, or pieces of bodies. Batgirl followed in a single file behind him, narrowing any field of targeting by the enemies.

A stray shell fired by the Kansas National Guard exploded too close to the young heroes. The spray of shrapnel, mud, pebbles, and other debris, upset their balance. Nightwing slid off the road, and he and the bike tumbled into the thick foliage. Robin was knocked out by the sudden snap to his neck.

Barb watched in horror as Dick flipped off the path. In that moment, she took her eye off the road. Batgirl's cycle nosedived into a ditch. She somersaulted over the handlebars, and landed in a muck filled bog, near a pile of dead Arcanite soldiers. Barb was unconscious. Both kids were down.

Clark caught the twin accidents out of the corner of his eye. He quickly shifted course, running towards the teen crime-fighters. His motion seemed to slow, as he labored heavily to reach any type of speed. In his mind, Clark felt like he was running in a thick swamp. His legs felt like lead.

Bruce ran alongside one of the Army Humvees, using it to deflect any random ordinance. He worked his way towards a frontal assault on the Arcanah leaders. As the smoke from a shell dissipated, the Batman noted that he was in the zone, that is, the attack zone. Bruce skidded to a stop, and vaulted over some fallen tree trunks, taking shelter between them. He pounded his fist on a trunk.

To Bruce's left were the advancing formations of the Kansas National Guard and The Metropolis Police Department. To his rear, were the slow moving, but heavily armed, Arcanah warriors. The Batman had been officially taken out of the fray, caught in the crosshairs of both sides.

Bruce cursed as he fiddled with his Utility Belt. He reprogrammed the bat jet to attack mode, arming its stinger missiles, and prearranging a strafing run on the Arcanite patrols with the machineguns. The risk was that the bat jet wouldn't easily distinguish between its foes.

The bat jet's compact, awesome armaments could, conceivably hit the Guardsmen, or the MPD. He had to concentrate on the level of firepower, while using the jet's attack as a diversion. Bruce worked out some of the calculations in his head. The sleek bat jet began its attack run.

Kara spied Janai perched atop the hillside and decided in her heart to kill the Arcanite Priestess. She wrestled with all that Kal El had taught her about resisting the impulse to kill. In her mind, Janai's death was justified. She'd likely killed hundreds of soldiers and reanimated their corpses, or cloned the deceased to stock her Army of Darkness. Any court in America would request the death penalty.

Ariana flanked her, flying at her best speed, though Kara was much quicker. "Ariana, I've decided to close in for the kill, if something happens, tell Kal El that I'm sorry." Kara called over her slim shoulder above the din of the war raging below them.

"Kara! Wait!" Ariana shouted, though Kara had made up her mind. The alien teen dove in for the kill shot. Kara Zor El, was about to commit murder. She swooped to the hilltop, and landed squarely in front of the attractive, but deadly Janai.

"You will cease this war, priestess!" Kara ordered, narrowing her eyes, and readying her kill shot of heat vision. She gave Janai one last chance to reform.

Janai laughed in her face. "You are a brave child, yet uneducated." The evil priestess taunted. "I know enough to tell right from wrong, and you are soooo wrong!" Kara sneered. "You can never win, child, yet you risk your very life for a people that you do not know." Janai challenged.

The two guards drew antique silver swords from nearly invisible sheaths. They were about to chop Kara into ribbons, not knowing the extent of the super girl's power. "Stop the war or die, Janai!" Kara directed as her eyes began to heat up. "You will not kill me, child. Its not in your nature."

"You'll find that I'm full of surprises." Kara reached out and grabbed Janai by the throat and lifted her high in the air above the hilltop. The guardsmen took swings at Kara. All motion slowed as Ariana dove down from the hazy sky, landing bedside Kara, she quickly sliced the guards in two with her golden sword. The human warriors died instantly, yet there was no blood.

Meanwhile, Kara held Janai, and felt several painful jolts of power course through her arm. It was like her arm was on fire, but there were no flames. Janai writhed as Kara closed her grasp around the priestess's windpipe, seconds away from crushing it.

Onward: Serpent


	17. Chapter 17: Arcanah Down

_Rise of the Arcanah _concluded.

The fiery pain increased, but Kara dutifully ignored it. A red and orange flash blinded Kara's eyes briefly. Janai somehow slid from Kara's grasp. The alien teen felt a sharp pain in her leg. She glanced down, and a six foot purplish blue lizard had sunken its sharp teeth into her calf.

Kara howled in pain, as every nerve in her body seemed to be on fire. How is this possible? Her alien mind grew more focused. She shook her leg with all her might, and the Janai lizard flailed in the fiery wind surrounding them. The creature had sunken its teeth deeply into her skin but would not relent.

The hilltop shook with the epic struggle that was going on between ultimate good and ultimate evil. Ariana attempted to strike the Janai lizard with her sword, but the ancient weapon merely bounced off the human slash reptile's bony, scaled skin.

Below, Bruce dove for cover as his bat jet targeted and fired its missiles and machineguns. Three out of the four stinger missiles had blown up the Arcanah armored transports. The last missile had impacted the base of the hillside, causing a minor localized tremor.

The hillside hit was enough to destabilize the entire knoll. Ariana tumbled backwards off the hilltop and immediately unfurled her golden white wings to keep from falling. Kara, now truly pissed, grabbed the Janai lizard by her swinging tail, and tried to yank the mysterious beast off of her leg.  
Kara and Janai lost their footing, and fell towards the ravine below.

Clark could run no longer, and fell into a craggy pit, which was only about ten feet deep, but he couldn't muster the strength to break his fall or leap upward. He anxiously glanced around looking for any possible kryptonite, but found none. This felt different, like he was weakened but not deathly ill.

Two shadows soared down from the sky in the midst of the battle. The Kansas Guardsmen were beginning to gain the upper hand on the zombie warriors, blasting most of the evil clones into dust and a milky purple substance. The Guardsmen hadn't noticed the airborne intruders.

The MPD had begun rounding up the remaining Arcanite soldiers, who offered very little resistance, as if they'd all lost focus at the same time. Bruce continued to direct the bat jet to strafe the Arcanite garrison with the machineguns, continuously splattering the purplish fluid in every direction.

Eventually he'd cleared a path towards his fallen charges, whom both still lay unconscious at the edge of the battlefield. The Batman had nearly reached them, when he observed the low flying shadows. "Now what?" He growled, scowling at the latecomers.

The shadow beings dove into the pit where Clark had fallen. John Jonz stood his unconscious passenger against the wall of the pit. "Kal El?" Clark glanced at the body, recognizing his own red flannel shirt, blue jeans, and work boots. "John? What's going on? Who are these Arcanites?" Clark pressed his alien friend for answers. The Martian Manhunter gestured for him to be silent.

"Relax Kal El." John urged. "We, or should I say, you, have a problem." The greenish hued alien began. "All of this time travel has somehow altered your physiology, splitting you in half. This is you." John carefully lifted up the head of the comatose doppleganger.

Clark saw his own face, lost in a blank expression, it's eyes open, barely breathing. "What? I mean that's not Bizarro is it?" Clark asked warily. "No, this is actually you. Your powers and capacity have been reduced." John explained. "You were literally in two places at once."

"How do we fix this?" Clark doubled over, partially from shock, partially from exhaustion. "I'm not exactly sure. Jor El never covered this in his training classes." The pleasant Martian quipped. "Should we go to the fortress?" Clark inquired, though he hated to leave in the middle of a battle. "Possibly. First, Kara's in trouble. If you wish to save her, we must act now." John considered.

"At only half power, I'll just have to make the best of it." Clark sighed. He took a deep breath, and readied his leap. "I can help, though I'm not entirely back to my old self either." John confessed. "The flight here was exhausting for me. I need to get back in shape." He jeered.

"Can we leave him, I mean me, here?" Clark asked. John nodded. "Let us hope that this final battle won't take long." Clark put his hand on the alien's broad shoulder. "How about a leg up?" He smirked. John helped by flipping Clark upwards.

The younger alien grabbed onto the edge of the pit, clumsily clambering over its cracked ridge. The movement attracted Bruce, who began to jog over to him. John leapt straight up, as Clark grasped the Martian's thin fingers, and eventually his palm and forearm, and hefted him above the ridge.

The Batman skidded to a halt, not entirely aware of what he was seeing. Before venturing any further, Bruce redirected the bat jet to cease its assault and cruise to a higher altitude where it would recon the area, and hopefully quickly locate Barb, Dick, or any new Arcanah threats.

"Kent? What the…?" Bruce began as the two super speedy aliens zoomed past him. The Batman caught a breeze and a glimpse of them, but not much else. "Communication is definitely not his strong suit." Bruce grumbled as he eyed the crumbling ridge.

Kara and Janai lay at the bottom of the rocky crevice. They were momentarily stunned, but otherwise uninjured. Kara's calf finally began to bleed, as the Janai lizard twisted beneath the super girl's leg. "Grrrr!" Kara began kicking Janai in the head with her free leg. "Get off of me you bitch!" Janai cursed as she released her grip on the alien's leg, and turned back into appearing as a female human.

Ignoring the pulsing pain and shredded skin of her long leg, Kara turned again on Janai, pinning the derelict creature's shoulders against the floor of the ravine. "Why don't you just die?" Kara growled. "Because she can't." Another female voice said from behind them.

Kara half-turned, expecting to see Ariana there, but instead glimpsed a young woman that she'd never seen before. The newcomer was dressed in a black leather jacket, white cocktail shirt, and wore black fishnet stockings. "Who are you?" Janai hissed, literally.

"Who I am isn't important, what I can do, is." The woman said in a level tone. Kara's eyes narrowed, but before she could respond, the woman lifted one hand and faced Janai. "TNEPRES ELIV DLROW ROUY OT NRUTER. Extracto!" The woman shouted, and immediately Janai reverted back to her lizard self, cursing vehemently, and disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

"What was that all about?" Kara limped to a standing position, rubbing her shredded leg. "I simply said: 'Return to your world, vile serpent' backwards." Kara was about to question the stranger further, but she disappeared in a foggy white smoke.

Clark and John, now in human form, finally located Kara, and they each took one of her arms across their shoulders, and helped Kara hobble up the ravine and onto flatter ground. The battle began to wind down, as Clark lifted his cousin up, with some difficulty, and faced her towards the hazy late afternoon sunshine. Kara's skin began to rapidly repair itself, as John watched with concern.

One by one the Arcanite creations disappeared into a vile smelling purple liquid. All explosions, and weaponry discharges ceased, leaving the Kansas Guardsmen, and the MPD scratching their collective heads. Bruce had made his way to Dick and Barb, and Clark, John, and Kara returned to the pit and the body hidden within it.

"This whole thing has creeped me out!" Kara remarked, walking more steadily now. "Now how are there two of you, Kal El?" John gave them the abridged version of the ailment. "Tachyon Distortion Syndrome?" Clark echoed. He then explained to Kara about the time traveling mission.

"Kal, you have to keep going, if you're right and the Eye of Rao is the only way to prevent Earth's destruction, then I'll help." Kara offered. "First we must put the two of you together somehow." John reminded them. "We'll have to consult the ice fortress and hope for the best." Clark suggested.

Kara informed them about the oddly dressed woman who had dispatched Janai. Something jogged Clark's partially damaged memory, but he couldn't place the image. "For now, can you take me, the other me, back to the farm?" Clark asked Kara, who was feeling much better by now.

Kara sighed, and glanced around for Ariana, but didn't see her. "Sure Kal, as weird as this is, I'll be glad to go home." John and Clark joined the Batman in helping Dick and Barb back to a nearby, undamaged troop carrier. "Jonz, I don't know why I'm surprised to see you in the middle of this mayhem." Bruce remarked with his traditional brooding scowl.

"You two know each other?" Clark had forgotten that whole part of his life within the original timeline. "We've met." The Batman said devoid of emotion. "He doesn't care much for aliens." John playfully explained to Clark. "It's not that, it's just that I have enough problems on this planet, without involving any others." Bruce commented as he pulled out some emergency oxygen from a spot on his utility belt.

Batman placed the small mask over first Barb's mouth and nose and then Dick's. "Should we get them to a hospital?" Clark asked as he tenderly brushed Barb's scruffy bright red hair from her eyes. "Nope. They should be all right. The hospitals around here will be overloaded. I'll take them back to Gotham with me as soon as they revive and have them checked out professionally." Bruce said.

Just as Kara was about to leave, the mysterious white fog reappeared, startling Bruce. The beautiful young woman solidified. "Zana?" Bruce gasped. "Hello, uh…Batman?" she glanced nervously at the group. "Bruce, is fine." He sighed. "That whole secret identity thing isn't working too well for me today."

Clark forced his mind to recall the magical beauty. "Zatanna?" He mumbled. "Clark, you remembered. I'm flattered." She teased. "I see you two have met." Bruce remarked with a hint of jealousy. "You're here because…?" Clark prodded.  
"Because somebody is messing with the timelines." Zatanna accused. "This kind of interference doesn't get past the eyes of the magical realm. I've been made aware of your mission." Her eyes narrowed as she faced Clark. "You're here to stop me?" He wondered aloud. "No. I am here to provide guidance." Zatanna waved her arms in the air.

"At the moment you have a split personality problem." The pretty magician indicated the Clark doppelganger in the pit, with a wave of her wand. "I can get yourself together, so to speak, but it will have a price." Zatanna bargained. "What would it cost?" Bruce immediately inquired.

"I'm glad that you remember that all magical intervention has a price." Zatanna said haughtily. "This price isn't necessarily good or evil." She hinted. "Out with it Zana, what's the deal?" Bruce prompted her sternly. "Clark must move onto the next shard of his adventure, and I must go with him." She sauntered over beside the young alien.

Batman looked at her blankly. "Do I want to know?" He asked no one in particular. "No!" Clark and Zatanna chorused. "That's it? You want to join me in the next shard?" Clark was skeptical. "No strings attached?" Bruce frowned. "It's too simple."

"Magic is only part of the next sequence of events." Zatanna added vaguely. "So what? You want me to give you a ride with the Eye of Rao?" Clark frowned. "Can't you just zap yourself into a time shard?" Zatanna shook her head, letting her long raven black hair fall to the side.

"It doesn't work like that, Clark." Zatanna explained. "I will explain further, but for now I'll take your word at its face value, and rejoin you with your renegade half." Kara retrieved the catatonic Clark Kent, and handed him to John, who stood the double up next to the true Clark.

Zatanna closed her eyes, forcing her mind to concentrate. A brown, leather bound, ancient looking spell book appeared in Zatanna's outstretched hands. She placed the book against her ample chest. She smiled and uttered a clever, meaningful spell:

_The vile criminal elements this day will rue;  
The pressure's great, we're under the gun;  
Spirits of time and place ring true; I beseech you  
Please let the two become one_.

Immediately the two Clark Kents shimmered into each other. Clark fell to his knees briefly, and Kara held her breath. Clark's eyes opened. "Are you okay?" Bruce asked with concern. Zatanna beamed. "Of course he's okay. These spells always work." She added cockily.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Clark stood up, feeling like he'd awakened from a relaxing nap. He stretched leisurely and grinned at the beautiful spell caster. "Thanks Zatanna." Kara edged in closer. "Do you still have your powers, Kal?" In response, Clark picked her up and leaped out of the damp fog. "You bet, kiddo!" He kissed her on the cheek, as she reddened.

Clark soared high into the sky carrying Kara. "He's…uh…flying." Bruce deadpanned. "Yes he is, Bruce. Clark cannot deny his true nature." Zatanna explained as she watched Clark and Kara split away from each other, flying side by side. "Just like I cannot deny mine." She added as the spell book vanished. John watched with concern.

"How do we know that the Tachyon Illness won't resurface in the next shard?" John wondered aloud. Zatanna dismissed his worries with a wave. "I gave him a sort of magic vitamin spell, along with the other one. It should protect him against any more split personality issues."

"Did you want me to cure Barbara and Dick?" Zatanna offered. Bruce shook his head, smirking. "No, thanks. That's why we have Medical Insurance." He quipped as a smile reached Zatanna's lips.  
Bruce rubbed his square jaw. "About this time shard thing…?" He began, but it was too late. Zatanna had disappeared and John had flown off.


End file.
